Looking back on it now, this experience had far more in common with the Middle Ages than the world of 2013. What's the difference between watching a lecture in an auditorium and watching HD-quality video in one's living room or beach cabana?
There's no difference at all but for any even mildly ambitious undergrad in a STEM field, physically attending a research university is an opportunity to get involved, however peripherally, in such research. For someone pursuing a graduate degree this seems more like a requirement rather than a serving suggestion.
Georgia Tech is not a respected engineering school just because it does a decent job of fielding 500-person classes.
> There's no difference at all but for any even mildly ambitious undergrad in a STEM field, physically attending a research university is an opportunity to get involved, however peripherally, in such research.
This is precisely the point. Our undergraduates go mostly up to Med School, and having a reaearch paper published is almost a requirement to get into any decent medical program.
Also, in an online course the interaction between is of a wholly different kind that a traditional brick-and mortar university. The social network that you build while at uni is part of why you go there in the first place.
There's no difference at all but for any even mildly ambitious undergrad in a STEM field, physically attending a research university is an opportunity to get involved, however peripherally, in such research. For someone pursuing a graduate degree this seems more like a requirement rather than a serving suggestion.
Georgia Tech is not a respected engineering school just because it does a decent job of fielding 500-person classes.