6 ms·

Isn't this a bit too cynical? Is there nothing of value that can be, you know, learned at MIT? What about the social aspects of being in college?

rdl 3y ago
You can absolutely get value out of being at a good school (I'd say even a mid tier school has value) -- both academic and social. It's just...is that worth $200-300k and 4 years of your life? There would also be value in getting a great job as a top-tier-school dropout ("intern who just loves this place and how fast everything is progressing, seems like a shame I have to go to school in September, but I'll keep in touch" "Now that I'm at school every day I miss..." "can you come back and start monday?") I think you get an overall superior package from dropping out and doing 20 under 20, joining a top company, or doing other stuff at a top level (even if it fails) than from universities today -- particularly as universities have gotten dramatically worse over the past 30 years (and especially past 5 years), and the requirement for a degree doesn't really exist (absent immigration pathways) in cs/tech. I'd take "my YC friends" over "my college friends" overall, too. This all assumes a highly motivated and self directed student. I don't think university really saves "I don't know what I want to do, my parents are telling me to go to Harvard so I will"; IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed.
- jncfhnb 3y ago
  Sounds neurotic imo. You are supposed to enjoy those 4 years.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    Sounds like the parent is enjoying his chosen life path even more? Or certainly more than paying for 4 years at MIT. Not everyone is lucky enough to have rich enough parents to get a full ride, or to have poor enough parents to qualify for a free ride.
    - jncfhnb 3y ago
      Well I’m irked by asking if it is “worth” 4 years. You should want to live in your life. Especially at a wonderful school like MIT. College friends are probably diverse. YC friends sounds like a bunch of similarly neurotic people.
      - MichaelZuo 3y ago
        Do you not understand the concept of paying for large sums by yourself? (or paying off the loans for that sum) It would not be that wonderful because of this burden, hence the comment.
- hn_go_brrrrr 3y ago
  > IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed. Please. College is a chance to gain exposure to things you otherwise never would know existed. I knew what I enjoyed doing going into college, but I found a lot more.
  - barbarum 3y ago
    Insights, I think, but not really exposure.
- archagon 3y ago
  > IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed. I'm sorry, but that is narrow-minded to the point of absurdity.
- tzs 3y ago
  > You can absolutely get value out of being at a good school (I'd say even a mid tier school has value) -- both academic and social. It's just...is that worth $200-300k and 4 years of your life? Most undergraduates at top schools aren't going to come anywhere near paying $200-300k. The top schools almost all have very generous aid programs that cover most of the cost by scholarships. Here's some data for MIT [1]. [1] https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/the-cost-of-attendance/making-mit-affordable/ https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/the-cost-of-atten...
  - linehedonist 3y ago
    Your link doesn’t show what percentage of undergrads receive aid. I would imagine that the vast majority of MIT undergrads come from households making >$225k, and so would receive perhaps some but not much aid. Still paying $52k / yr according to your link
    - caditinpiscinam 3y ago
      > I would imagine that the vast majority of MIT undergrads come from households making >$225k Median family income for MIT students is $137k, per this article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/massachusetts-institute-of-technology https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit...

rdl 3y ago

You can absolutely get value out of being at a good school (I'd say even a mid tier school has value) -- both academic and social. It's just...is that worth $200-300k and 4 years of your life? There would also be value in getting a great job as a top-tier-school dropout ("intern who just loves this place and how fast everything is progressing, seems like a shame I have to go to school in September, but I'll keep in touch" "Now that I'm at school every day I miss..." "can you come back and start monday?") I think you get an overall superior package from dropping out and doing 20 under 20, joining a top company, or doing other stuff at a top level (even if it fails) than from universities today -- particularly as universities have gotten dramatically worse over the past 30 years (and especially past 5 years), and the requirement for a degree doesn't really exist (absent immigration pathways) in cs/tech. I'd take "my YC friends" over "my college friends" overall, too. This all assumes a highly motivated and self directed student. I don't think university really saves "I don't know what I want to do, my parents are telling me to go to Harvard so I will"; IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed.

jncfhnb 3y ago
Sounds neurotic imo. You are supposed to enjoy those 4 years.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  Sounds like the parent is enjoying his chosen life path even more? Or certainly more than paying for 4 years at MIT. Not everyone is lucky enough to have rich enough parents to get a full ride, or to have poor enough parents to qualify for a free ride.
  - jncfhnb 3y ago
    Well I’m irked by asking if it is “worth” 4 years. You should want to live in your life. Especially at a wonderful school like MIT. College friends are probably diverse. YC friends sounds like a bunch of similarly neurotic people.
    - MichaelZuo 3y ago
      Do you not understand the concept of paying for large sums by yourself? (or paying off the loans for that sum) It would not be that wonderful because of this burden, hence the comment.
hn_go_brrrrr 3y ago
> IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed. Please. College is a chance to gain exposure to things you otherwise never would know existed. I knew what I enjoyed doing going into college, but I found a lot more.
- barbarum 3y ago
  Insights, I think, but not really exposure.
archagon 3y ago
> IMO if you're 16-18 and have no idea what kind of things you enjoy you've already failed/been failed. I'm sorry, but that is narrow-minded to the point of absurdity.
tzs 3y ago
> You can absolutely get value out of being at a good school (I'd say even a mid tier school has value) -- both academic and social. It's just...is that worth $200-300k and 4 years of your life? Most undergraduates at top schools aren't going to come anywhere near paying $200-300k. The top schools almost all have very generous aid programs that cover most of the cost by scholarships. Here's some data for MIT [1]. [1] https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/the-cost-of-attendance/making-mit-affordable/ https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/the-cost-of-atten...
- linehedonist 3y ago
  Your link doesn’t show what percentage of undergrads receive aid. I would imagine that the vast majority of MIT undergrads come from households making >$225k, and so would receive perhaps some but not much aid. Still paying $52k / yr according to your link
  - caditinpiscinam 3y ago
    > I would imagine that the vast majority of MIT undergrads come from households making >$225k Median family income for MIT students is $137k, per this article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/massachusetts-institute-of-technology https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobilit...