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Here in Sweden university education costs less per head than high school education. Then of course, there's money for research, but we pay for that separately.

Here in Sweden university education costs less per head than high school education. Then of course, there's money for research, but we pay for that separately. In Russia there's the Independent University of Moscow, which probably doesn't have any expenses other than the salaries of the professors. What a university needs is skilled scientists and well-prepared students willing to work hard, and that isn't expensive.

HPsquared 3y ago
As it should, I guess: university students require less supervision.
- impossiblefork 3y ago
  Yes, if they're properly prepared. But if they aren't properly prepared they'll require individual tutoring. There are probably some university students that can't even do their calculations mentally and sit there writing furiously when doing problems on exams. Obviously that should have been dealt with when they were 13 or something, but it rarely has.
  - qayxc 3y ago
    Interesting. Back when I was in uni, the university offered a 6 week prep course that would recap/teach the basics that were expected in the first semester. So enrolled students could choose to take that course to brush up on or learn these fundamentals so everyone was (in theory) on the expected skill level. Other than that there was pretty much no hand holding - 18+ year olds are considered adults after all.
    - impossiblefork 3y ago
      Yes, not when I studied either. We similarly had such courses, but they're brush-up courses, not courses teaching the deep fundamental skills that I believe are needed. It worked fine, but I believe that with real training in doing algebra and calculus mentally can get you further, but that this training takes more time and requires actual tutoring if you want the broad masses of suitable-for-university students to acquire the skills.
  - kwhitefoot 3y ago
    > can't even do their calculations mentally and sit there writing furiously when doing problems on exams. What calculations? There were no calculations in my Applied Physics finals in 1977.
    - impossiblefork 3y ago
      When I say calculations I mean doing algebraic manipulations, not arithmetic. I have a strategy: first it try to do it mentally, if I can't I start doing it on paper, then once I solve it I wait for a long while and then I do it mentally. My impression is that that kind of thing isn't really taught and I believe it needs to be taught.

HPsquared 3y ago

As it should, I guess: university students require less supervision.

impossiblefork 3y ago
Yes, if they're properly prepared. But if they aren't properly prepared they'll require individual tutoring. There are probably some university students that can't even do their calculations mentally and sit there writing furiously when doing problems on exams. Obviously that should have been dealt with when they were 13 or something, but it rarely has.
- qayxc 3y ago
  Interesting. Back when I was in uni, the university offered a 6 week prep course that would recap/teach the basics that were expected in the first semester. So enrolled students could choose to take that course to brush up on or learn these fundamentals so everyone was (in theory) on the expected skill level. Other than that there was pretty much no hand holding - 18+ year olds are considered adults after all.
  - impossiblefork 3y ago
    Yes, not when I studied either. We similarly had such courses, but they're brush-up courses, not courses teaching the deep fundamental skills that I believe are needed. It worked fine, but I believe that with real training in doing algebra and calculus mentally can get you further, but that this training takes more time and requires actual tutoring if you want the broad masses of suitable-for-university students to acquire the skills.
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  > can't even do their calculations mentally and sit there writing furiously when doing problems on exams. What calculations? There were no calculations in my Applied Physics finals in 1977.
  - impossiblefork 3y ago
    When I say calculations I mean doing algebraic manipulations, not arithmetic. I have a strategy: first it try to do it mentally, if I can't I start doing it on paper, then once I solve it I wait for a long while and then I do it mentally. My impression is that that kind of thing isn't really taught and I believe it needs to be taught.