Summary

The web content describes methods for obtaining college-level knowledge through self-education, using resources like libraries and the internet, as exemplified by Scott Young's challenge to complete MIT's computer science curriculum in one year without enrolling, and emphasizes finding syllabi and textbooks to guide one's learning journey.

Abstract

The article outlines a strategy for acquiring advanced knowledge without the traditional costs associated with higher education, drawing inspiration from the film "Good Will Hunting" and the real-life example of Scott Young. It suggests that by using resources such as syllabi from universities and textbooks, individuals can create their own curriculum to learn at a fraction of the cost. The process involves identifying a specific class or general subject of interest, finding a corresponding syllabus, and then sourcing the necessary textbook either for free through libraries or at a low cost by renting or purchasing older editions. The article emphasizes the potential of self-directed learning and provides practical tips for accessing educational materials that are typically used within formal college settings.

Opinions

The author believes that traditional college education can be replicated through self-education, as demonstrated by Will Hunting's character and Scott Young's real-life achievements.
There is a skepticism regarding the practicality of learning solely from the internet, as it can be time-consuming and overwhelming due to outdated resources and the vast amount of information available.
The article posits that having a structured curriculum, such as a college syllabus, can significantly enhance the self-learning process by providing clear guidance and objectives.
The author suggests that obtaining textbooks doesn't have to be expensive, with options like renting, buying used or international editions, or finding alternative books that cover similar content.
The author advocates for flexibility in the learning process, recommending that learners adapt their approach based on their financial situation and the availability of resources, such as choosing a syllabus to match a freely available textbook if necessary.
The article encourages the use of public libraries as a cost-effective means to access educational materials, aligning with the idea that valuable knowledge can be obtained without significant financial investment.
It is implied that self-directed learning requires self-discipline and the ability to set personal deadlines, especially when renting textbooks to avoid unnecessary stress.
The author concludes with an optimistic view that financial constraints should not be a barrier to learning and personal development, echoing the sentiment that determination and resourcefulness can lead to significant educational achievements.

How to Gain College Level Knowledge for Cheap (Or Free)

You can do it with the Good Will Hunting method

**“How do you like them apples?”** Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Will couldn’t afford to go to college, but he didn’t let that stop him. Instead, he became a self-educated man. In the movie, Good Will Hunting, Will used the library to give himself the same education that a college student could have.

If you’ve ever seen the movie, you know he was successful. He proved it by winning a battle of wits against an actual Harvard student. The argument ended with these words from Will Hunting:

“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.”

We laugh at the sick burn, but is it possible to do what Will Hunting did?

How can you gain college level knowledge without going to college?

Everything is on the internet, isn’t it?

Of course, we hear all the time from these uber creators who never seem to sleep. “There’s no excuse for not being successful! All the knowledge you could ever want is available freely on the internet! Take it and get to work!”

Let me ask you, though, have you ever actually tried to learn something from the internet?

Woven between umpteen paid courses, sure, you can find knowledge for free. If you’re really lucky, you can find some archive that was created in the 90s and has never been updated since then. Out of date, but hey, it’s free. And you can always get lost down the rabbit hole of subtopics on a Wikipedia page.

So, sure, if you want to get a basic overview of something, that’s easy to do for free on the internet. You can probably cobble together what you want eventually.

But your time is more valuable than that. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone had already created a curriculum that covered the topic you want to learn? Then you wouldn’t have to waste time creating a course for yourself, you could just dive right into the learning.

Good news — someone has already done that.

But how do you get the info that colleges are teaching, and how do you do it without paying the price of admission?

The Story of Scott Young

Scott Young decided to challenge himself to complete a 4-year computer science undergraduate program at MIT. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, lots of people get computer science degrees. Scott’s challenge was a little bit different from the norm, though.

He would do it in twelve months, and he wouldn’t even enroll at MIT.

Scott wanted the knowledge, not the piece of paper certifying his knowledge, and that changed the parameters of his challenge.

After spending time examining MIT’s computer science curriculum, he created a plan for himself to follow. You can read more about his fascinating experiment here. He was successful, and his total cost was less than $2,000.

Not only that, but his experience inspired him to continue this method of “aggressive, self-directed learning”, which he dubbed “Ultralearning”. He went on to apply it to language learning and learned four languages within a year through complete immersion.

You don’t need the structure of a college curriculum to learn anything. But it can be a helpful aid to your studies. And if you want to do it for free (or cheap), here’s how.

Identify Your Situation

There are two steps to this process: find a syllabus and find a book. I’ll give you the details on how to do both of these steps, but first you need to decide which one to do first. Depending on your situation and ability to spend money, one step will occur before the other.

Situation 1: You want to take a specific class from a specific school.

This is the method that Scott Young used, but potentially could be the most difficult and/or costly. If you can’t obtain that syllabus, you’re out of luck from the beginning, game over. And if you can get the syllabus, but the textbook is brand new and there aren’t other options, it could cost hundreds of dollars.

Scott noted himself that it took nearly a month to put together his plan, having to make substitutes for particular classes or textbooks. It cost him time and money to get it done. Still, $2,000 is far less than the cost of a typical college education, and twelve months is far less time.

Situation 2: You want to take a general class from any school.

Whether you want to expand it to include every class in a degreed program, or if you only want to learn one class, the method is the same. You now have the option of finding either a syllabus OR a textbook you like, and then working backwards to the other piece.

We’re going to focus on Situation 2, because it’s the most common. This can be done for much less money than Situation 1, potentially even for free. Let’s begin by choosing a syllabus first.

Finding a Syllabus

Let’s imagine you want to sharpen your bookkeeping skills. We’ll start with an Accounting 101 class, then. I’ll begin by going to my search engine of choice and searching for “Accounting 101 syllabus”. If you prefer, you can further modify your search by limiting it to results with “.pdf”, but I find it’s usually not necessary.

Syllabi from colleges everywhere pop up. I typically browse through a few of them. I’m looking specifically for details of the weekly schedule. Details that I can follow along on my own, like:

Week 1: Read Chapter 1. Do Homework Problems 5–15.
Week 2: Read Chapter 2. Do Homework Problems 1–17. Quiz on Ch. 1.

When I find one that looks like a great guide for the topic I want to cover, I’ll see what textbook it uses.

Though you can usually find this on the syllabus itself, sometimes teachers neglect to include the name of the book. If that happens, and the school has an online bookstore, you can usually go look up the class and find the name of the book. If that fails, drop it, and move on to another syllabus.

Finding the Textbook (Free)

Okay, you’ve found your syllabus, and now you need the book. Here’s where the price will vary. If you’re lucky, the book you need can be found on the shelf in your local library. That’s free. However (especially if you live in a small town), it is highly unlikely that the exact book you want will be the one they have.

That said, they WILL carry something along the same lines. Remember when I said that you could either choose the syllabus or choose the book? This is an example of choosing the book.

If you have absolutely no money at all to spend on this project, then you work with what you have. Check out the textbook that you CAN get your hands on, and then search for a syllabus to match it. If you can’t find one, that’s okay. You can probably figure out which chapters of the book to read by comparing the topic names to a different syllabus.

Finding the Textbook (Cheap)

Let’s say you’re not quite that hard up, though, and you can afford to spend a few dollars on obtaining the textbook you really want. How cheap can it be?

The options you have really come down to buying it or borrowing it.

Borrowing, or renting, a textbook is as easy as clicking a button on Amazon. They’ll ship it right to you, like anything else. They’re going to want it back at some point, of course, but the books come with ample rental time.

This option is cheaper than buying a brand new textbook. For example, I looked up an Accounting 101 book. The brand new digital version is $90, and the paperback is $95. For $60, you can rent the digital version for six months.

That doesn’t seem like much of a cost savings. Let’s add in another quick tip for finding your textbook:

You don’t need to get the edition required in the syllabus. There normally isn’t a lot of change between editions, except for the price.

For example, the prices I quoted above are for the newest 11th edition of that book. If I search for the 10th edition instead, I quickly find that Amazon has a hard cover that can be rented for $12. And I can buy one for $6.

Some Other Tips on the Process

Older editions aren’t the only way to save with textbooks. Especially with math and science books, if you do a search for the “international” or “global” version, you can save money. These books are usually paperback vs hardcover, thus creating cost savings. Another difference, especially for residents of the US, is that the problems use metric units of measurement, but hey, you should probably learn how that works anyway.

Here’s a final tip regarding your mental health: Don’t rent a textbook if you’re not going to hold yourself to a time constraint. It can be very easy to get stressed out over missed deadlines. Don’t do that to yourself!

Luckily, the anguish that you will cause is easily avoidable: Buy the book instead and proceed at your own pace. You’ll be glad you did.

Will Hunting may have become a mathematical genius, but he wasn’t always one. He had to start from somewhere, and it was the same place we all start from. He didn’t let a lack of money stop him from learning anything.

It doesn’t have to stop you, either.