3 ms·

I personally think the biggest reason to go to college is that it's just plain fun. A rare chance in your life to have very few responsibilities and explore bei

I personally think the biggest reason to go to college is that it's just plain fun. A rare chance in your life to have very few responsibilities and explore being yourself. Unfortunately, add mounting costs, difficulties of finding jobs, and debt, and I'm not sure college is the perfect answer for long term success. I wonder if many hot startups would rather hire someone that dropped out to do their own thing vs. someone who finished their degree? There is no replacement for real-world experience.

prawks 14y ago
Agreed. College afforded me time to find out who I really was, what I enjoyed doing, and who I enjoyed doing it with. I envision myself making many, many mistakes in those departments had I not gone. The debt was completely worth it in my mind, I just treated it as an investment and worked hard to make sure I got an appropriate return.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
mikevm 14y ago
>I personally think the biggest reason to go to college is that it's just plain fun. A rare chance in your life to have very few responsibilities and explore being yourself. Doing a CS major (or probably any other science) barely leaves you with any free time, and let's face it, it's not exactly the pinnacle of fun.
- yesimahuman 14y ago
  I did a CS major and had plenty of free time. That being said, I made subconscious efforts to not try too hard in school :)
- prawks 14y ago
  As a CS major, I agree with your first statement, but wholly disagree with the latter. I thoroughly enjoyed my studies, even though they were rigorous. I majored in CS because I enjoyed it. It was plenty worth it at graduation when I could look back and say I actually accomplished something as well.
  - mikevm 14y ago
    I'm currently in my 2nd year, and from what I gather most of the people aren't enjoying it so far. The first year was mostly pure math (Mathematical Analysis I & II, Linear Algebra I & II, Discrete Math, Intro to Probability) + a few comp sci courses (Scheme, Java and a very abstract Data Structures course). I came to computer science from a software engineering perspective and less from a theoretical one, so that is probably why I'm not having a ball ;-) Hopefully in the 3rd year, once I get to pick electives I will enjoy it much more.

prawks 14y ago

Agreed. College afforded me time to find out who I really was, what I enjoyed doing, and who I enjoyed doing it with. I envision myself making many, many mistakes in those departments had I not gone. The debt was completely worth it in my mind, I just treated it as an investment and worked hard to make sure I got an appropriate return.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

mikevm 14y ago

>I personally think the biggest reason to go to college is that it's just plain fun. A rare chance in your life to have very few responsibilities and explore being yourself. Doing a CS major (or probably any other science) barely leaves you with any free time, and let's face it, it's not exactly the pinnacle of fun.

yesimahuman 14y ago
I did a CS major and had plenty of free time. That being said, I made subconscious efforts to not try too hard in school :)
prawks 14y ago
As a CS major, I agree with your first statement, but wholly disagree with the latter. I thoroughly enjoyed my studies, even though they were rigorous. I majored in CS because I enjoyed it. It was plenty worth it at graduation when I could look back and say I actually accomplished something as well.
- mikevm 14y ago
  I'm currently in my 2nd year, and from what I gather most of the people aren't enjoying it so far. The first year was mostly pure math (Mathematical Analysis I & II, Linear Algebra I & II, Discrete Math, Intro to Probability) + a few comp sci courses (Scheme, Java and a very abstract Data Structures course). I came to computer science from a software engineering perspective and less from a theoretical one, so that is probably why I'm not having a ball ;-) Hopefully in the 3rd year, once I get to pick electives I will enjoy it much more.