One of the things about physical vs online higher education that I see as under-discussed is the ambient learning that takes place when you are in physical loca

One of the things about physical vs online higher education that I see as under-discussed is the ambient learning that takes place when you are in physical location with a bunch of curious people learning similar things to you. I know that I learned so many things in college just because I happened to be sitting around, talking with interesting people before or after class or while working on assignments together. Just living in a dorm with people in that sort of "adult life with training wheels" setting and being able to hang out with totally new people who I might not have sought out on my own was REALLY valuable. There is so much to be learned outside of the classroom at college and online education is going to struggle to emulate those things. Yes there are all sorts of social places online that can augment this, but there really is something valuable about learning and interacting with people in person. Yes, there are local clubs and hackerspaces and meetups, but there really is something to be said for having all of these things right at your fingertips (almost) all with in close proximity and (almost) all populated and run by your peers. A good college just lowers the barrier of entry for all these things. Online education is awesome. It gets information to people in a way that was never before possible and that's a great thing. But I think that formal education is only one benefit of a good college experience.