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At the end of the article the OP admits: "... you will never be able to replace the social element of attending a university, arguably the most important part o

At the end of the article the OP admits: "... you will never be able to replace the social element of attending a university, arguably the most important part of it". This is so true; even in the early 70s the system was broken, and I got only so much out of the university offerings by themselves. But I got a lot of use out of my roommates. High school had been a homogeneous environment, everyone taking the same stuff and enduring the same assignments, preparing for the same standardized tests. But at university I was suddenly thrown in with people with different specializations, different expertise, different interests. I found myself taking meals with electrical engineers, mathematicians, political science observers, religious people, educators, psychologists, physicists, chemists... and I could pick the brains of any of them. I was like a kid in a candy store. And that's not all: I discovered the pain and pleasure of ethanol. I walked in the moonlight through a cypress forest discussing existentialism with a platonic girlfriend. I acquired some rudimentary burglary skills. I broadened my musical tastes. I learned to eat stuff that wasn't mama food. You can't do any of that these days, sitting in your parents' basement and skulking the intarweb. The community made university worthwhile, not most of the academic stuff that was routinely delivered as part of a contrived degree requirement. Not to say that some of the classes weren't worthwhile - far from it - but I sure wish I could have selected better. I'd have rather taken more math than some of those general studies requirements. So, thinking out loud here, is there a place for an academic hostel? A low-rent complex with dormitories and classrooms, paid lecturers but no degrees and no grades, and students stay on the basis of some kind of meritocracy? I'd go back to school, even now, if it weren't for all the BS. I just don't have time for that - and really, who does?

Zev 16y ago
So, thinking out loud here, is there a place for an academic hostel? A low-rent complex with dormitories... I'd say that cheap living, in exchange for lacking comforts (privacy, being able to cook your own meals, etc) is the sort of thing that only works when you're in your late teens/early 20's. Which is, unsurprisingly enough, when most people who go to college/university are attending. And to be honest, as someone in his early 20's, it gets pretty tiring after a while. I'm all for low rent and being around great people. But, I'd rather pay a bit more for those comforts and still be around previously mentioned (or other) great people.
HilbertSpace 16y ago
Non-trivial education without the BS? Consider a grad program in math or computer science at one of the best research universities: BS courses? Sometimes there aren't any and, instead, the students are expected to learn the basic material for the qualifying exams on their own. Interest? Students are expected to have some research project underway in their first year. Courses? They are mostly introductions to leading edge parts of research by world experts. You may not see just how to use it yet, but it mostly won't be trivial! Main requirement? An original contribution to knowledge worthy of publication. Publication? New, correct, and significant. BS? Do some good RESEARCH, and f'get about nearly everything else; the school will. Entrance requirement? Show you have the prerequisites, talent, and desire. Another way: Write a paper and publish it in a journal where one of the reviewers, editors, or the editor in chief is a prof at the grad department you want to go to, and when the paper is approved for publication then write a letter to that person saying you want to be a grad student in their department. Support? The best US research universities typically have more funds for grad student support than they have good grad students. More? Take three papers (one non-trivial paper) with a staple in the corner called your Ph.D. dissertation, and then your main work is DONE and you can concentrate on more in research, the opposite sex, etc. The Future? If you REALLY want to see computer science or math move forward, then don't curse the darkness and, instead, light a candle. Is this more of what you were looking for?

Zev 16y ago

So, thinking out loud here, is there a place for an academic hostel? A low-rent complex with dormitories... I'd say that cheap living, in exchange for lacking comforts (privacy, being able to cook your own meals, etc) is the sort of thing that only works when you're in your late teens/early 20's. Which is, unsurprisingly enough, when most people who go to college/university are attending. And to be honest, as someone in his early 20's, it gets pretty tiring after a while. I'm all for low rent and being around great people. But, I'd rather pay a bit more for those comforts and still be around previously mentioned (or other) great people.

HilbertSpace 16y ago

Non-trivial education without the BS? Consider a grad program in math or computer science at one of the best research universities: BS courses? Sometimes there aren't any and, instead, the students are expected to learn the basic material for the qualifying exams on their own. Interest? Students are expected to have some research project underway in their first year. Courses? They are mostly introductions to leading edge parts of research by world experts. You may not see just how to use it yet, but it mostly won't be trivial! Main requirement? An original contribution to knowledge worthy of publication. Publication? New, correct, and significant. BS? Do some good RESEARCH, and f'get about nearly everything else; the school will. Entrance requirement? Show you have the prerequisites, talent, and desire. Another way: Write a paper and publish it in a journal where one of the reviewers, editors, or the editor in chief is a prof at the grad department you want to go to, and when the paper is approved for publication then write a letter to that person saying you want to be a grad student in their department. Support? The best US research universities typically have more funds for grad student support than they have good grad students. More? Take three papers (one non-trivial paper) with a staple in the corner called your Ph.D. dissertation, and then your main work is DONE and you can concentrate on more in research, the opposite sex, etc. The Future? If you REALLY want to see computer science or math move forward, then don't curse the darkness and, instead, light a candle. Is this more of what you were looking for?