Can you sneak into college classes?

Question

A guy I met said he pretty much has a college degree except he never registered--he said he sneaked in all the classes and just learned for the sake of learning and didn't care about getting a diploma at the end, and plus it was free.
Do you think he's lying or is this actually possible?

Answer 1

Yes they can if it's a really large class (auditorium size classes with 100+ students). But with some of the smaller personal classes, like 15 or less, there's no way that anybody can do this and get away with it for too long.

But a lot of my classes are getting hip to his fact, and at the beginning of each semester my classes have a roll call done. For those whose name didn't show on the role call, 99% of the time it's because they just registered the day before and the system hasn't updated yet. My professors have said no problem, they'll allow them to stay and to come on again next week. But by next week if their name still isn't on the roll call list, then the professors have to legally kick them out otherwise the professors will be in violation of several school attendance laws. I've only had this happen one time, and the student kept saying that they don't understand why their name isn't on the sheet since he registered for the class. All the professor could say is to take it up with the registration office, but for now he couldn't stay in the class one other minute.

Plus the school is losing money for students who this (much like people who walk into several movie showings at once), so it's in the professors incentive to kick them out too.

Answer 2

Sure, it is possible... at least, for larger classes. It would be very difficult at most schools to do that for the advanced courses, which are much smaller and the professors know the students, but it ultimately depends on class size. He is probably exaggerating the extent to which he did this, as he would have had to sneak into a minimum of 40 classes or so to "pretty much have a college degree," and without doing the course work, it simply isn't true anyway. There is a LOT more to college than sitting through a class. That said, if he finds that interesting, all the power to him! In most courses it would not be hurting anything. That said, if he coughed up the money, he could be using that knowledge to further his career. Almost seems like a waste.

Answer 3

This will depend on the college and the professor. If the college has large classes, it is possible he was not noticed.

I went to small colleges. He would have been noticed and kicked out. I also had some professors who locked the door after class began, to prvent anyone (registered or otherwise) from coming in late.

At some colleges with larger classes, what your friend suggested may have been possible, but it is not very probable.

Many colleges also offer the option to "audit" courses. You still pay the money, but you don't get a grade for the class and don't always have to take the tests. This option is usually used be people who already have a degree or who are retired and simply wish to learn something new for no other reason than having learned something new.

I think your friend is trying to rip off the plot of "Good Will Hunting", expect that Will was supposed to have gotten his eductaion at the public library.

Answer 4

It's possible, but not very likely. The first two years would be super easy. Just go to Chemistry or the other classes and learn. They are usually very large, several hundred people, and no one would notice the difference. It's a great way to take the course once and then take it again, pay and get an A.

However, the higher classes would be more difficult, especially in specific fields of study. For example, he wouldn't get away with it in Geophysics because most of the classes only have about 10 people in the class.

There are lots of people who like to learn for the sake of learning. I'm one of those people. I wouldn't go to the classes with out paying because it's a terrible amount of work to find out what class is where and how many people are in it, etc, and then not have anything that says how great you really are.

I would say, be weary. Would you go through all that effort and then not have something to prove how hard you worked? It's a badge of honor!
-- Fizz --

Answer 5

Instead of sneaking around, why not just approach the instructor and ask to audit the class? You can sit there and be the same as a student but you get no credits and no real grade. I did this once when I had a client for whom I needed specialized knowledge to complete my assignment. The real question here is why you want to do this on the sly. EDIT: I just read your additional details, so I withdraw my question. I encourage you to do as I suggested above. Some colleges/universities call it auditing a class while others are more casual and just call it sitting in on a class, BTW. Good luck, whatever you decide!

Answer 6

It might be, but you'd be taking a big risk if you got caught. And in a post-Virginia Tech world, I think most professors are going to want to know who's in their classes enough to do at least the occasional attendance check. Besides, while I don't want to knock learning for learning's sake, it's not going to do you any good professionally without the degree or proof of enrollment.

Answer 7

At UIUC most of the classes I have taken do not take attendence. This combined with the fact that people drop classes in the first few weeks mean it is easy to sit in a learn. The time and locations for each class are posted for easy reference.

Of course, without a degree you will likely not benift from what you may have learned as you have little proof for employers that you actually have the skills they are looking for.

Answer 8

sounds like a liar. When you move on to advance classes, you'll find out that there are only very few students. It's almost imposible to sneak to those

Answer 9

It is totally possible, especially in large lecture halls. However, he is lying about "pretty much having a college degree." It doesn't mean anything if you don't write research papers. Research and paper writing are the main way to receive an education with a liberal arts degree.

Answer 10

In a large university, for freshman-level classes, with 100+ in an ampitheater-setting, it is easy. Once you get into smaller classes, there's no way. He is at least exagerating, but more-likely outright lying. I'd throw the BS-flag on this one.