Setting My Sites On the Ivy League

I wrote about my career challenges and my distaste for junior college a few weeks ago, so it may not surprise anyone to learn that stumbling upon this article caught my attention.  The Atlantic covered the unveiling of a joint effort between Harvard and MIT to develop exclusively online higher education opportunities.  I listened to the whole press conference, eager for the least bit of information.  My heart went pitter-pat.




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This I could do.  This I am excited about.  The greatest part is, the courses will be Harvard- and MIT-quality.  The exact same material and expectations.  A real opportunity to learn.  They will only be offering certificates—no degrees—but that's okay with me.  It's the education I want.  They don't yet indicate exactly what courses they will offer (I hope they offer writing), but I have signed up here to get on their mailing list.  I want to know just as soon as it's time to click on the dotted line.

In the meantime, I'll make the concession, do the prudent thing and sign up for this course in Excel.  It's offered by Harvard Business Review, a product of Harvard Business School, so it will still look good on a resumé.  When Paul took an Excel course at BYU-I, they gave him the link and said, "pass this."  I don't mind taking the course.  I just think it stinks that the world won't take me exactly on my own terms.

But, maybe I just might learn a thing or two at Harvard.  If you could take any course you liked from an Ivy League university, what would it be?

—A Chaotic Mind