4 ms·

One unfortunate thing about undergrad is that students are punished for taking classes that push their capabilities or even classes in other disciplines (past t

One unfortunate thing about undergrad is that students are punished for taking classes that push their capabilities or even classes in other disciplines (past the basic requirement version of these classes). Many ambitious students are striving to make a career in the humanities (probably like this author), to go into investment banking, or to get into an elite law or medical school. These fields are so competitive that it’s not worth risking taking classes you might not get an A in. This results in students filling their schedule with easy classes and professors and maybe not taking the classes they are interested in. Or worse, punishing students who don’t do this. Some of the smartest people I know were 3.2-3.5 students because they did not play the game and took challenging classes across disciplines. Conversely I know some absolute morons who got I-banking jobs at elite firms because they only took fluff classes

sh4rks 5y ago
Are they really morons if they're working their dream jobs? I don't understand why people think that an undergrad class is the only way to learn about something. There are far better resources nowadays on the Internet where you can learn something from scratch at your own pace, without the stress of deadlines and grades. That's the unfortunate truth.
- dc-programmer 5y ago
  Well, the few people I had in mind aren’t exactly tearing up the world of financial services to put it nicely. Maybe moron was too mean. A related belief I have is that college students over-index on trying to get their foot in the door of whatever industry. For example, students who skip stats and CS classes because they might hurt their GPA might find themselves behind the students who did 5 years down the line. Even in the humanities and social sciences. Another example is all the junior engineers who are leetcode experts but don’t know what DNS is. I actually agree with what you are saying. But why can’t college be the place to do that? You have a bunch of people together in one place who want to learn (and have the time), in theory guided by experts. Most people are highly social learners and need some accountability, and Khan academy videos aren’t going to cut it

sh4rks 5y ago

Are they really morons if they're working their dream jobs? I don't understand why people think that an undergrad class is the only way to learn about something. There are far better resources nowadays on the Internet where you can learn something from scratch at your own pace, without the stress of deadlines and grades. That's the unfortunate truth.

dc-programmer 5y ago
Well, the few people I had in mind aren’t exactly tearing up the world of financial services to put it nicely. Maybe moron was too mean. A related belief I have is that college students over-index on trying to get their foot in the door of whatever industry. For example, students who skip stats and CS classes because they might hurt their GPA might find themselves behind the students who did 5 years down the line. Even in the humanities and social sciences. Another example is all the junior engineers who are leetcode experts but don’t know what DNS is. I actually agree with what you are saying. But why can’t college be the place to do that? You have a bunch of people together in one place who want to learn (and have the time), in theory guided by experts. Most people are highly social learners and need some accountability, and Khan academy videos aren’t going to cut it