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Comment by jotux | Hacker News Reader

The actual education part of a university is really a small part of what students leave with. What you're really getting is a network of professors (with ties to employers) and other students that become your friends. Once everyone leaves the university you now have a large network of people that can vouch for your technical knowledge and personality.

What you don't get with an online education is the proximity to other students and professors that facilitate strong relationships.

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Well I feel cheated, as an introvert that never stayed in touch with anyone from college and who went into a wildly divergent field from my major. I didn't experience either of the major benefits you're touting; the education was everything. I still think it was worth it, but I absolutely think it could have been done better and cheaper online.

I also didn't get any networking opportunities through professors, and not a lot through friends. I think my undergrad degree was worth it just as a signal to employers, but I would gladly trade back my graduate education and the right to say I ever attended in return for cancelling all the student loans I (stupidly) took out to fund it.

You know how they tell you, you get out of it what you put into it.

You didn't put anything into it.

The value of networking in undergrad is grossly overstated. Sure, you make friends, but you don't need college for that. And the overwhelming majority of friends I made in college haven't kept in touch with their professors. In fact, outside of one guy who graduated at the top of his class, I doubt said professors would even remember them.

Respectfully, I will disagree (and I was never a frat member). Most of my post college jobs (in terms of years served) have resulted from recommendations from class mates . I started grad work, but never finished, but it has never mattered for me.

Getting employment opportunities through professors (outside of research) doesn't really apply where I am from.

you also dont get a peice of paper at the end that employers give a shit about.

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