What Did I Really Learn in School?
What did I really learn in school?
Executive summary: No problem was unsolvable.
I have a 16-year-old who’s just starting the college search—vetting universities, weighing majors, and generally trying to map out the next phase of life. It’s a bit overwhelming for him (understandably), just like it was for me at that age.
But from my perspective now? I’m just excited about the possibilities ahead for him.
Thinking back, I had some solid options when I was making my own college decisions. I even won a Mathematics Medal that came with a big scholarship to RPI. But in the end, I chose to go to MCC and then UB for three reasons:
- It was more affordable (frugality was a big factor).
- I could stay home longer to help out.
- If I needed to get home quickly, I could.
Once I got to University at Buffalo, I became hyper-focused on getting into the University of Rochester’s graduate program for physics. And that led me to the real lessons I learned in school—lessons that had nothing to do with the name on my diploma.
What Actually Mattered
- The school name didn’t matter—goal-setting and drive did.
- I learned how to think for myself and, more importantly, how to teach myself. Finding answers and building teams to solve problems became second nature.
- School was a game. And like any game, understanding the psychology of it was just as important as solving the problems. (I got very good at predicting test questions.)
- Master one thing and carry it through. Test-taking wasn’t my thing, but I crushed homework. That was my edge.
- Effort mattered as much as the grade. No one cares about a 4.0 if you didn’t actually learn how to do anything.
- Teamwork was everything. I formed study groups, led them through sheer willpower and organization, and we got through it together. The ultimate proof of this? My PhD qualifying exam.
What I Missed
- Fun. Yeah… I didn’t have much of that. I was too locked in on the next step, the next grade, the next goal.
- Networking. (See above.) A huge part of school is building a professional network, and I didn’t focus on that nearly enough. (I have playing catch up on this front to this day, at 43 years old!)
A Note to My 18-Year-Old Self
Education is what you make of it—not what school name is on the degree. Worry less, make more friends, and remember: friends are what make making a living fun, not just a job.
That about sums up undergrad. Grad school? Whole different story… but that’s a blog post for another day.
Thanks for the read.
- Ben
