How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam wit

[Stacker]

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How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam without paying for tuition?

I never go to lecture and I just study on my own and take the exam. This got me thinking. Why do we absolutely need to pay for tuition (for the professor's time) in order to take the exam when we can study on our own and still score high? It seems like college is just a superfluous, middleman-like, debt troll that has little to no influence about what we can learn on our own. They just dish out exams and monopolize credentials.

 

[medreno]

You can say that for some classes. However, especially for classes pertaining to your major, its best to have professors there that have worked in the field and can give advice etc.

 

[Lollygag]

How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam without paying for tuition?

I never go to lecture and I just study on my own and take the exam. This got me thinking. Why do we absolutely need to pay for tuition (for the professor's time) in order to take the exam when we can study on our own and still score high? It seems like college is just a superfluous, middleman-like, debt troll that has little to no influence about what we can learn on our own. They just dish out exams and monopolize credentials.

I feel this way about many of the general education classes that have nothing to do with your future but yet you are forced to take. But for major classes I agree, it's helpful to have professors.

 

[Stacker]

You can say that for some classes. However, especially for classes pertaining to your major, its best to have professors there that have worked in the field and can give advice etc.

I and many others spend like 95% of our time studying/learning in a desk and chair isolated from professors. This is going to sound really whiney but I think it's unfair that we have to take thousands of dollars in student loans just to become credentialized. When really we can just not enroll, study on our own, pay for $0.75 worth of exam papers, take whatever exam, get an A, and earn a degree. Why pay thousands of dollars?

I've already taken Biochem/Anatomy/Physio/Micro and I swear you can look up whatever question in the textbook or online. If I really had to consult a professor, I'd rather pay him/her by the hour instead of paying thousands for an entire semester.

 

[MangoPlant]

How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam without paying for tuition?

I never go to lecture and I just study on my own and take the exam. This got me thinking. Why do we absolutely need to pay for tuition (for the professor's time) in order to take the exam when we can study on our own and still score high? It seems like college is just a superfluous, middleman-like, debt troll that has little to no influence about what we can learn on our own. They just dish out exams and monopolize credentials.

I agree. Full tuition should only be charged for students that actually go to lecture and only a fraction of full tuition for students who study on their own, but may want to go to the professors office hours or ask the professor for advice occasionally. Of course the logistics behind that would need to be worked out..

 

[leon sandcastle]

i mean i only go to lectures to check out hot chicks

 

[amazing tekkers]

Avoid those expensive liberal arts colleges.

 

[amazing tekkers]

i mean i only go to lectures to check out hot chicks

Excellent advice.

 

[medreno]

I and many others spend like 95% of our time studying/learning in a desk and chair isolated from professors. This is going to sound really whiney but I think it's unfair that we have to take thousands of dollars in student loans just to become credentialized. When really we can just not enroll, study on our own, pay for $0.75 worth of exam papers, take whatever exam, get an A, and earn a degree. Why pay thousands of dollars?

I've already taken Biochem/Anatomy/Physio/Micro and I swear you can look up whatever question in the textbook or online. If I really had to consult a professor, I'd rather pay him/her by the hour instead of paying thousands for an entire semester.

I understand, it can really depend on the major also. What would really be nice is if you could watch the professors lectures online. Some med schools actually have the lectures online and students can watch them outside of class. I know some med students that say its very beneficial.

 

[survivordo]

You're paying for the right to take the test at a credentialed school and the right for them to say "okay this kid meets our standards" and give you that diploma. It does seem a like a waste of money, that's why I would always encourage people to go to the cheapest undergrad they can.

Survivor DO

 

[lcck]

Sounds like you should check out EdX.

 

[jlescher]

The other reason you pay tuition is to have access to hands on classes like labs, as well as the opportunity to be in an environment where you can work in research labs, clubs, ect. These things wouldn't exist if there was no tuition. I'm not saying you're one of the people that don't take advantage of these opportunities, but a lot of people with your opinion aren't utilizing them. It's really sad to see people graduate with a BS and not know how to work a basic microscope or make a serial dilution. I've seen this on more than one occasion.

 

[Aerus]

You basically pay the university for a piece of paper after 4-5 years. The most expensive piece of paper thus far in your life.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Going to class? Please. My university video captures lectures.

 

[Larry_David]

at my uni we can CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) classes. which is basically just schedule a time to take the final and if you pass you get credit. i know of a few people that did this to get out of the gen chem sequence. they just asked the prof for the syllabus and studied over the summer.

edit: it costs about $100 to do so.

 

[mehc012]

Avoid those expensive liberal arts colleges.

Oh, you mean the ones with amazing financial aid programs? 😛

I got so much more out of college than my diploma...in fact, I'd say that academics was the LEAST of my learning experiences in undergrad. So, while I am saying this from the silver bubble of a no-loans financial aid program, I still think that I would willingly shell out a reasonable sum of dollah dollah billz for college if I were to go back and do it all over again, without the finaid. Just my personal perspective

 

[Lamel]

I've literally done this for gen chem and gen bio. Waste of time at the lectures. Other courses though I would need professor help.

 

[UrbanRiver]

OP, you pay tuition to take tests, get a transcript, and get a degree. Those things, in and of themselves, are worth tens of thousands of dollars. You are paying for the right of privilege to practice medicine. Education (for the sake of just learning) is becoming more and more free otherwise... there are free youtube videos of prestigious faculty giving lectures for more and more classes. Or I know people who just audit classes as a non-student. But that's not what you are paying for.. no complaining.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using SDN Mobile

 

[Ashley1989]

I go to a private university that's extremely expensive and my ochem professor is doing the thing where he posts some of the video lectures online along with links to khan academy and we have one "open question" day during the week. At first it was cool to work independently, but now I'm starting to feel lost and disconnected from the class. It's really bad. Maybe I'm not the norm, but I really like the structure of a normal class session, although maybe it would be easier for a class that is NOT Ochem.

 

[catzzz88]

How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam without paying for tuition?

I never go to lecture and I just study on my own and take the exam. This got me thinking. Why do we absolutely need to pay for tuition (for the professor's time) in order to take the exam when we can study on our own and still score high? It seems like college is just a superfluous, middleman-like, debt troll that has little to no influence about what we can learn on our own. They just dish out exams and monopolize credentials.

SHHHHH!!!! They don't want you saying this out loud!

Academia is a business.

 

[gmcguitar4]

How awesome would it be if you could just study on your own and take an exam without paying for tuition?

I never go to lecture and I just study on my own and take the exam. This got me thinking. Why do we absolutely need to pay for tuition (for the professor's time) in order to take the exam when we can study on our own and still score high? It seems like college is just a superfluous, middleman-like, debt troll that has little to no influence about what we can learn on our own. They just dish out exams and monopolize credentials.

At this point it seems like that. It didn't used to be. Students had to use the library for books/typewriters and had to attend lecture to get all of the knowledge. All you do now is google something to find what you want. The thing about college is that it also motivates you to work harder by offering a competitive environment. You could 100% learn most things on your own with the resources available these days but would you? Most people wouldn't. Universities make you take courses that you would not normally take either to give you a well-rounded education. For example, I had to take a literature course(I would never have chosen to). I took intro to german literature and it was one of my favorite classes in college. More so the discussion of the literature than actually reading it. You can't get that on your own.

Tuition is ridiculous though. Private universities are seeing many students turn to their state schools for cheaper classes and other vocational schools for training as well as online courses. This affects their enrollment. So then they build fancy facilities/dorms/etc to attract more students and this drives tuition up. So in a sense you are paying 50k a year for the environment more than an education.