Did you actually learn anything in College?

[Zaul2013]

I'm curious because I don't really feel like I learned anything at all; most of the stuff I memorized for exams I already forgot.

Did you guys learn anything?

[Cusco]

When it comes to mathematics, you don't get very far by simply memorizing things, so I've learned loads and this is my first year.

[Kraenen]

When it comes to mathematics, you don't get very far by simply memorizing things, so I've learned loads and this is my first year.

same with me, except in comp sci

[Catta]

No... Not yet... :3

[Ave07]

Ill remember what I learned in the classes that matter to me or ones I find interesting.

[semaphore]

Quite a bit. I picked up several languages (both human and computer), I was introduced to many new ideas and ways to look at things, I learnt how to do research, I acquired the ability to distinguish between reliable materials and stupd bs on the internet, and I built some cool stuff that while easy in retrospect felt challenging at the time. Seems pretty good so far.

[Tradewind]

I learned that people with a tenuous grasp of the English language and an incredible difficult to understand south east asian accent should not be teaching Networking Fundamentals, especially CCNA/CCIE topics. Because I was tired of answering the question from classmates "what's a wouhtuh."

[Letmesleep]

I learned more important things about myself than I did anything else during that time. I tried a lot of different paths but ultimately came to the conclusion that I'd probably never be satisfied by the human condition. I don't actually believe there's a gratifying way for me to live; mortality kinda invalidates everything.

[starlord]

yeah cause i actually paid attention.

[Thage]

I learned a couple things. Term papers suck, but they help you expand your horizons on a subject by making you research it more thoroughly (even if it's just reading out of Wikipedia and citing Wikipedia's sources; expanding your horizons by a little bit is still expansion). I am atrociously bad at math when dice aren't involved, but somehow I have a pretty good head for probability. College helped temper my passion for creative writing by teaching me what cliches and potholes to avoid (most notably, one lecture was two hours on deus ex machina and its effect on a reader's suspension of disbelief). I learned more about world history in a semester than I did in twelve years of public school without the AMERICA FUCK YEAH bias. Mainly, though, I learned that it's more fun to learn when left to your own devices as to what courses you want to take versus what an arbitrary state-level test thinks you should learn, your own strengths and weaknesses be damned.

[Ceece]

Besides learning the little things, most of my course was self taught and I was there for a degree, at least to make things official.

[Deleted]

I learned that people with a tenuous grasp of the English language and an incredible difficult to understand south east asian accent should not be teaching Networking Fundamentals, especially CCNA/CCIE topics. Because I was tired of answering the question from classmates "what's a wouhtuh."

I feel your pain.

C++ lecturer with an incredibly thick Chinese accent. He also talks pretty quietly, which doesn't help.

[Reeve]

Yes, I learned quite a lot. I didn't feel like I was learning much at the time, but when I went out into the world and found that a lot of people don't know a lot of the stuff, I discovered college taught me quite a lot.

[Reg]

Yes.

/10letters

[Deleted]

I'm sure I did.
I've forgotten everything since I've left though

[muto]

I learned that no one is going to be there to keep people leashed, college professors could care less if people show up or not to their classes.

I also learnt that a lot of the scholarship athletes don't really care about the education portion and would rather dick around or just go for the easiest degree.

[Veyne]

I don't get it. I went to college, studied something relevant to my interests, got a job doing it, and put those skills that I learned at college to use on a near-daily basis.

---------- Post added 2013-01-07 at 11:14 PM ----------

I learned that no one is going to be there to keep people leashed, college professors could care less if people show up or not to their classes.

You either had bad professors, or you went to a big university with huge lecture halls. In either case, I am legitimately sorry. In the latter, the professors simply don't have the time to devote to their students. One on one interaction with one's professors can make a huuuuuuge difference. =/

[Cthulhu 2020]

If you,

Chose a liberal arts major,
Barely showed up to class and used the "night before" method to cram for exams to get a barely passing grade,
Went to some community college that refuses to fail its students and didn't even show up for exams,

then yeah, the likelihood of learning anything meaningful is low.

I personally learned a lot more in college about myself and the world in addition to my area of study in college than I learned at any other point in my life.

I learned that no one is going to be there to hold your leash, college professors could care less if you show up or not.

At my college, this was true for the 1000 level courses, and even a lot of the 2000 level courses. Once you got past second year stuff and got into 3000 level the classes were much smaller and attendance mattered a lot more to the professors. Any 1000/2000 level course that has 100-600 students in it is generally going to rely upon the students to be self motivated to learn. A professor can't possibly hold everyone's hand, although they would often get to know the people if they showed up after class for questions and for office hours to learn. The professor cared about giving those people an A a lot more because it was obvious we wanted to learn.

[sandmoth12]

I usually absorb bits and pieces from every course I take. No way I will remember it all but I remember general ideas and a few small specifics for the stuff I did like, and some of the stuff I actually use everyday in just my thinking pattern.

[Fuzzzie]

I studied Art History and I work in construction. Did I learn anything? Yeah. Was it useful? Not really.