The round of applause from the students was likely because they were relieved to have the validation. I went to great schools and it seemed like many of us wer

The round of applause from the students was likely because they were relieved to have the validation. I went to great schools and it seemed like many of us were always thinking that none of us were as smart/gifted/different as the next person (side note: doesn't take 100% audience buy-in to get the whole audience eventually applauding). But the twist is reminding students (and especially young alum) what such a prestigious degree means -- in short, not as much as you would hope. And for good reason because the tools of the "knowledge economy" are more freely available then ever before. I'm not saying that Khan Academy or Rural Broadband is equal to 4 years at Yale, but I do think that 4 years at Yale is less meaningful now. Like, wouldn't many of you rather have a Karma score of 5000 if you were applying to YC then a CS degree from Stanford?