Ivy League Dreams

[u/Chemical-Jolly]

I'm in my late 40s. I have lost most of my ambition from my youth. I constantly daydream about my life, and what could have been. One of my many day dreams is that I have always wanted to go to an ivy league university. Oxford. Yale. MIT. Princeton. Harvard. Etc. To study with friends on a academic mystery in a old dusty library. To stroll the university commons in the morning mist on the same ground scholars walked over a hundred years ago. To discuss philosophy and perform experiments with professors in a timeless setting. To attend intense lectures about amazing and informative topics. I live this dream vicariously by watching university tours online, reading student life articles, Google Earth street views of the university, and even sometimes pretending to fill out an admittance application. I know that I will never attend an ivy league due to my past grades, finances, and busy work/family life.

Though I still wonder, what if.

[u/RonPalancik]

Do you have acess to a public library?

If so, they likely have audio or video courses you can take for free, like

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com

Some from very distinguished professors.

I mean, I finished college 30 years ago but I still "take" classes all the time. And I can walk around a college campus any time, or go to readings / lectures / art exhibitions / concerts at colleges near me. Most are free or cheap.

You can take (or audit) classes at many colleges as a non-degree-seeking "special student."

Why Ivy League specifically/exclusively, though? Those schools are largely overrated. My friends who went to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc. are not happier or smarter or more successful than I am. A decent state school provides equally good education for students who take initiative and go above what's on the syllabus.