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Comment by sharadgopal | Hacker News Reader

"what the actual cost of education would be and remove all the useless excess courses added to the curriculum unnecessarily."

couldn't agree more.

i am currently in college, and i have to take 3 engineering electives (classes, outside of my engineering major), 2 social science electives, and i get to take 3 "any/free" electives.

one could make an argument that it broadens the educational experience or whatever, but from experience, half these classes are BS, and almost all of these just suck up a lot of time, which could be better spent focusing on one's chosen field of study/ or other interests.

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  one could make an argument that it broadens the educational experience or whatever

While I tend to agree with your point, the truth is that undergraduate study is not about specialization. There is a trend in that direction, but in my mind it's a bad thing, not a good thing.

In a perfect world you would take comprehensive classes specific to your chosen field, but those classes would take a more holistic approach, and would draw course material from a multitude of sources.

Also, remove gyms, college team, etc.

8 courses over 8 terms. At most you've reduced your direct tuition costs by ~15-20%. And I would argue that you're actually loosing value. If you want to do a program where you leave undergrad as a hyperspecialized specialist in one sub-field of engineering, be my guest. It'll make it easier for me when I get out looking for your jobs.

It's true that there's a crap ton of bullshit courses out there. But you know what, you get to pick your electives. Pick them right, and you'll get to avoid most the bullshit. I took a macro-econ course from one of the most passionate (and hilarious) profs on our campus to supplement my eng courses. And now I have some extra understanding into what actually effects my actual job market.

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