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What I Learned In College

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Re: What I Learned In College

#11

Post by zalzane »

navait wrote: post #7

Sigh. Another special snowflake lamenting that the system didn't bend to exactly his needs. What you get out of university is what you put into it. Want to be judged for something other than test taking? Get involved in research. Get involved in one of the many math and CS organizations your campus has. But you have to go get them yourself. Nobody's going to say "oh, you're so smart, please join our team!" Get it out…

To be fair, there was only one paragraph lamenting that the system didn't bend to his needs. If you think that was the theme of this essay, then I suggest you reread it.

Re: What I Learned In College

#12

Post by vacri »

zalzane wrote: post #11
navait wrote: post #7

Sigh. Another special snowflake lamenting that the system didn't bend to exactly his needs. What you get out of university is what you put into it. Want to be judged for something other than test taking? Get involved in research. Get involved in one of the many math and CS organizations your campus has. But you have to go get them yourself. Nobody's going to say "oh, you're so smart, please join our team!" Get it out…

To be fair, there was only one paragraph lamenting that the system didn't bend to his needs. If you think that was the theme of this essay, then I suggest you reread it.

For values of one where one equals three intro paragraphs and subsequently sprinkled through the essay, finishing up with a conclusion paragraph that is entirely unsurprising ('kids these days aren't getting the right skills')

It's signed off with one of the more banal slogans you could hope to encounter (the bit in bold).

Re: What I Learned In College

#13

Post by navait »

JMStewy wrote: post #10
navait wrote: post #7

Sigh. Another special snowflake lamenting that the system didn't bend to exactly his needs. What you get out of university is what you put into it. Want to be judged for something other than test taking? Get involved in research. Get involved in one of the many math and CS organizations your campus has. But you have to go get them yourself. Nobody's going to say "oh, you're so smart, please join our team!" Get it out…

I think you're being too dismissive. You may be tired of seeing this kind of post from fresh graduates, but just because the solution to their problems seems obvious to you now, that doesn't change the fact that lots of 18-year-old kids don't know and don't find out until it's too late. That this happens to so many bright students is a waste of a lot of time, money, and human capital. Having considered it in the year…

I am a fresh graduate, and I came into university with the same attitude as him, in a scholarship program full of people with my attitude. Fortunately, the dean talked to my freshman class during orientation. He said: "Yes, you're smart. But you'll find here, everyone else is also smart. You'll find that you have to distinguish yourself through the work you do.". Admittedly, my ego was too big at the time to really take the thought seriously, but after meeting so many wonderful people at the university, and many people who were so ridiculously smarter than I was I realized how special I wasn't. For the most part, I found people who kept my attitude didn't fare as well as the students who did change.

I also think posts like this ignore all the students who navigate the system successfully. It makes our universities seem as failures, when they provide so much value and sucesses.

Re: What I Learned In College

#14

Post by 10098 »

What you learn in college/university depends only on yourself. Tests are just the most convenient, unified way to measure students' progress. There are two ways you can beat tests: one is to train specifically for the test, the other is to actually know the subject.

The first way is easier, but leaves you with little residual knowledge, and you don't even know how to apply that knowledge. The second way is much harder, and it requires work on your part. However, it pays off. Not only you get to pass the test, you're also now armed with useful knowledge.

At my time in university, I've taken both approaches towards various subjects. For the algorithms class, I made a lot of effort to study and understand the subject. Today, I still have it in my head, and can apply it when needed. For differential equations, I just studied for the test. I don't remember anything now, and it's my fault for being lazy. I got an "A" in both subjects, by the way.

What I'm trying to say is, the system is just fine as long as qualified professors are teaching. The problem is lazy students.

Re: What I Learned In College

#15

Post by jmduke »

I graduated two months ago, and I learned a lot of things, too.

I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself.

I learned that, yes, you're more or less paying for the piece of paper (but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of other awesome things you get along the way.)

I learned that, yes, that piece of paper is quite worth it, no matter how many hip tech companies say they don't care about pieces of paper.

I learned that there can be infinitely more value in talking to a stranger for fifteen minutes than spending that time browsing Reddit (or playing a video game.)

I learned that, despite my protestations otherwise, I honestly do perform best when my outcome is quantified, curved, and compared to other people's outcomes.

I learned that everyone's college experience is wildly unique, too, as I benefitted from professors in both business and computer science classes who always rewarded creativity instead of stifling it.

(I don't mean to say that I disliked college. It was the best four years of my life. But the idea that the undergraduate experience is marvelous and the idea that the undergraduate experience needs a lot of fixing are not necessarily in contention with one another.)

Re: What I Learned In College

#16

Post by adamnemecek »

jmduke wrote: post #15

I graduated two months ago, and I learned a lot of things, too. I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself. I learned that, yes, you're more or less paying for the piece of paper (but that d…

> I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself.

I've had the same experience. And I hate how colleges seem not to recognize that.

Re: What I Learned In College

#17

Post by jmduke »

adamnemecek wrote: post #16
jmduke wrote: post #15

I graduated two months ago, and I learned a lot of things, too. I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself. I learned that, yes, you're more or less paying for the piece of paper (but that d…

> I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself. I've had the same experience. And I hate how colleges seem not to recognize that.

Something I realized around seven semesters too late is that most programs are conducive to independent studies, which is I'm sure a wildly broad term but at my alma mater it was basically "Go spend three months on your own learning something interesting and then write a paper or a powerpoint or a plugin on it." You'd have an advisor (or sometimes a board of advisors) to meet with you every few weeks, but the work was all entirely self-directed, sort of like a mini-honors thesis.

I imagine that those are going to become increasingly popular. If you abstract it out, its basically a credential system for productive independent thought, which is sort of the whole point.

Re: What I Learned In College

#18

Post by adamnemecek »

jmduke wrote: post #17
adamnemecek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I learned that the fastest way I'll ever learn a subject (whether or not it's a programming language, a financial derivative, or an era of Hinduism) is on my own, poring over search engines and worn-down books. Professors will never teach me faster than I can teach myself. I've had the same experience. And I hate how colleges seem not to recognize that.

Something I realized around seven semesters too late is that most programs are conducive to independent studies , which is I'm sure a wildly broad term but at my alma mater it was basically "Go spend three months on your own learning something interesting and then write a paper or a powerpoint or a plugin on it." You'd have an advisor (or sometimes a board of advisors) to meet with you every few weeks, but the work w…

Where did you go to school if I may ask?

Re: What I Learned In College

#19

Post by jmduke »

adamnemecek wrote: post #18
jmduke wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I realized around seven semesters too late is that most programs are conducive to independent studies , which is I'm sure a wildly broad term but at my alma mater it was basically "Go spend three months on your own learning something interesting and then write a paper or a powerpoint or a plugin on it." You'd have an advisor (or sometimes a board of advisors) to meet with you every few weeks, but the work w…

Where did you go to school if I may ask?

The College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, VA.

Re: What I Learned In College

#20

Post by mjmahone17 »

Holy crap, UW's CS only has 200 graduates per year? For a school of that size, that's tiny. That's close to as many as most Ivy League schools these days, and their undergrad population is usually around 1/5 that of UW. This is especially sad, as CS courses should be pretty easy to scale, especially when you have a group of undergrads who want to teach. Not to mention how hypercompetitiveness drives out diversity, especially of minds, because the more competitive it is, the more of the "correct" hoops you have to jump through. This means that, if you struggle in math but are highly artistic, and could bring a different perspective to your courses, you're effectively shut out.
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