The thing you are getting at Stanford, or any place like it, is immersion in the campus community. If you want to view it as a transaction where you pay for acc

The thing you are getting at Stanford, or any place like it, is immersion in the campus community. If you want to view it as a transaction where you pay for access to lectures and someone to grade your work, then yes, a lot of things about it are going to seem dumb. Community colleges and commuter branches of state university systems serve those needs better.