A screenshot from when I Skyped with Rebecca Goldman to tell her I got the fellowship. This Saturday marks the close of my two-year stint as a Thiel Fellow. I sat down to write Danielle Strachman, Jim O’Niell, Mike Gibson, Deepali Roy, and Jonathan Cain a thank you letter, but I decided to expand [...]

Written by Dale Stephens. This piece is a response to Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz’s article “Online Courses seek a Business Model” in the Wall Street Journal. If you were told of a MOOC had 1.5 million learners and 250,000 graduates worldwide, the names Coursera and Udacity would probably come to mind. What if I [...]

Written by Dale Stephens. This piece is a response to Leon Wieseltier’s article of The New Republic. When I look back at my education, I am struck by how little I was taught.This is, apparently, the opposite experience of Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic. While I certainly had a unique experience [...]

Written by Alexander Berger. When I tell people I quit school, I get one of two reactions: “That’s stupid, risky, and reckless. Go back or you’ll regret it.” or “That’s awesome! Hands-on experience is more valuable than a degree.” Most reactions are positive here in Silicon Valley, but are not so in other parts of [...]

Written by Catherine Stevens. Hackademics: We Have A Problem College students have it easy: school offers both content (your classes) and community (your classmates). Hackademics, on the other hand, need to embrace a certain “I’ll-do-it-myself” mindset. Although we now have access to the content we need — through online classes, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), [...]

by Jean Fan The Harsh Reality of Paying for School I’m worried. As I apply for college, my biggest fear is not “Where will I get in?” but rather, “How will I afford all of this?” Already the costs are accruing. We have to pay to request transcripts, and then pay more to send our [...]

By Kathryn Cannon At UnCollege, we recognize that some of our readers choose the college path. Some need it for licensing, some are on a scholarship, some are doing it in half the time; whatever the case may be, they believe it is the right choice for them. But just because you’re in school doesn’t [...]

Written by Derek Janis About 3 years ago, I dropped out of Brigham Young University to work on a startup. Since then, I’ve had mediocre success and about a year ago I decided to finish my degree, while continuing to work at a digital marketing firm. This was a very hard decision for me. Though [...]

Written by Jean Fan As hackademics we choose to establish our own credentials, often at the expense of formal ones. In order to build a captivating online portfolio, however, we need to develop certain skills. Below we’ve included a list of important skills and corresponding resources that will help you build your reputation. Writing Whether [...]

Last week, Uncollege hosted its Fall Hackademic Camp. Here’s a play-by-play of a few of our workshops: Tiffany Mikell asked us, “What is the greatest gift that you can give to the world?” A Chicago native, Tiffany runs a technology consulting firm, helping non-profits expand their reach. 1. What is your mission? Write down the [...]