College Major and Career Prospects

[TWDeac]

Chapel Hill

Awesome.

I'm looking at Michigan and Xavier right now.

 

[vadimivich]

I would pose this question to you: if it is possible to get a great liberal arts education on your own simply using resources and connections now available, isn't it also possible to get a technical (engineering, science, etc) education on your own by teaching yourself using these new connections?

In some field, yes (computer programming for example) - in others, no. It's pretty hard to have a nuclear reactor to work on outside a university, or a chemistry lab, etc - many of the "practical" fields require equipment and resources that are just out of the reach of most individuals except in a university or professional setting.

FWIW - if I had a child entering university, I would encourage them to major in something "practical" but to study abroad and pack their electives with critical thinking type classes, especially ones that encourage them to write. It's not that there isn't value in that, it's just not that I'm sure avoiding the "practical" studies at their expense makes a lot of sense.

 

[DrummerDeac]

From a purely "knowledge" standpoint, sure you could learn just as much from books and the internet.

However, that is only one small aspect of attending college.

I disagree... one of the reasons I went to Wake was because of its small class sizes. I learn much better in an interactive environment; reading alone just doesn't do it for me.