I go to the massive UT and my best experience in academics has come from, without fail, local community colleges. I took my Calculus, History, Government, and English courses in class sizes no bigger than 15 kids, got to know my professor/peers through class interaction rather than office hour groveling, and could ask specific questions all day. And I paid $165/class instead of $1,400/class.
When I compare the same course alternative at UT, it's instead taught by TAs, needlessly much harder (how is a class average of 30% on an exam not an institutional failure?), and I spent my time struggling to teach myself on the side rather than feeling like I grasped the concepts in class.
It's unfortunate that our system glorifies the inferior experience through compensation, taboos, and social status.
When I compare the same course alternative at UT, it's instead taught by TAs, needlessly much harder (how is a class average of 30% on an exam not an institutional failure?), and I spent my time struggling to teach myself on the side rather than feeling like I grasped the concepts in class.
It's unfortunate that our system glorifies the inferior experience through compensation, taboos, and social status.