I just finished my Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, with a major in Science, Technology, and International Affairs, and minors in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Throughout my 4 years, I obtained knowledge regarding international politics, mathematics, and computer science (of course Alfred, that's what you studied). The takeaway, though, is that (1) I truly believe I could have learned everything I learned in the classrooms outside of them. In my experience, often times I found myself dilly-dallying in class, daydreaming about random shit that had nothing to do with class. Instead, most of my knowledge of current international political events comes from my reading of newspapers and articles outside of the classroom. I could have taken some online courses and combined these with my reading of books and newspapers that I already do and obtained a similar amount of knowledge and skills in significantly less time.

Am I trying to imply that college had no value for me? Hell no. The second takeaway is that (2) the key use of my college experience was my ability to develop my social network. College, along with high school, is an ideal place to develop a wide social network. There are so many avenues to meet people in college: classes, university-sponsored events, society/academic club events, home gatherings, dinners, bar hopping, parties, dates, random dorm interactions - the list is truly endless. This ease of social connection is difficult to find outside of the college experience. The social network you develop can be incredibly useful when you try to forge your career path post graduation. You have created personal connections with people from around the world with similar drive and determination as you.

Does this mean if your college experience was more academically focused than socially that it was not worth it? Hell no. I believe (3) for some if they did not have the framework of college courses (assignments, final exams, others holding them accountable), they would not have developed their knowledge and skillset to the level they are today. In such cases, the value of academics in college is significant and focusing on them is a must.

Thank you to everyone who played a part in my college experience.

See you all soon,

Alfred