Great post by Paul Graham on the importance of getting the right college education...
"Practically everyone thinks that
someone who went to MIT or Harvard or Stanford must be smart. Even
people who hate you for it believe it.
But when you think about
what it means to have gone to an elite college, how could this be
true? We're talking about a decision made by admissions
officers—basically, HR people—based on a cursory examination of a huge
pile of depressingly similar applications submitted by seventeen year
olds. And what do they have to go on? An easily gamed standardized
test; a short essay telling you what the kid thinks you want to hear;
an interview with a random alum; a high school record that's largely an
index of obedience. Who would rely on such a test?"
I particularly find this part intriguing:
"...Because how much you learn in college depends a lot more on you than the college. A determined party animal can get through the best school without learning anything. And someone with a real thirst for knowledge will be able to find a few smart people to learn from at a school that isn't prestigious at all."
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