Vocabulary:
· protest: to disagree strongly with something, often by making a formal statement or taking action in public
· subsidy: an amount of money that the government or another organization pays to help to reduce the cost of a product or service
· freshman: a student who is in their first year at a high school or university
· postpone: to decide that something will not be done at the time when it was planned for, but at a later time
· intriguing: very interesting, especially because of being strange or mysterious
· decor: the style of decoration and furniture in a building
· omit: to not include sth/sb, either deliberately or because you have forgotten it/them
· curriculum: the subjects that students study at a particular school or college
· faculty: a department or group of departments in a university / all the teachers in a university, college, or school
Sentence:
· over two and a half times: 超过2.5倍
· longing for sth.: 强烈渴望sth.
etc. I have a longing for home. 我非常想家
· appeal to sb. 对某人有吸引力
· rack up debt: 负债
· My goal will be to try to pass the exams an MIT student would do.这里的will be，表明将来某一个点，我会去做这个事。如果说My goal is to ...则表明当前已经在做这个事了。
· get out of sth. 从...中获得... what do you hope to get out of this course. 你想从这节课中获得什么？
perhaps the doubts and worries over do-it-yourself degree, had more to do with it being unconventional, than it being genuinely more difficult than a formal program.
Scott Young’s TED talk argues that self‑study ability determines the height of life. He points out that college tuition has risen sharply, yet students spend little time on deep learning. Instead of relying on schools, we can take courses on our own. Although we may lack face‑to‑face guidance, there are clear advantages: many free online courses are available, we can watch lectures at 1.5× speed, and we can rewind whenever we need – something impossible in a live class. More importantly, Young suggests using a time log to track every activity throughout the day, helping us identify wasted time and focus on what truly matters. He himself completed MIT’s 33 computer science courses in just 12 months through self‑study, proving that effective learning does not require a traditional campus. Ultimately, our future depends not on institutions, but on our own ability to learn independently and manage our time wisely.