I did a Great Books program roughly similar to Hillsdale's core curriculum, except it was the entirety of my undergraduate education — there were nearly no electives (St. John's in Annapolis & Santa Fe, St. Mary's College of California's Integral Program, and a few others are the best known of these).
I didn't take a "computer class" until I went to graduate school for a Master of Science degree, but I had a successful career in technology before that point. There's a lot to be said for learning how to learn, among many other attributes one gains from such a course of study.
FWIW, there was a religious component to some of the texts, but TBH there's not a thing wrong with studying Thomas Aquinas or Augustine's Confessions regardless of how you feel about this or that religion. It's really interesting to compare Genesis and the Gospel of John, especially when you have a couple years of Greek, regardless of whether or not you pray to $DEITY. The only time I ever went into the school's chapel was to listen to a good friend give piano recitals. I'm reasonably certain Hillsdale is not a seminary and the Christian aspect shouldn't give the majority of prospective students, whether casual online or on-site resident, too much cause for worry.
I think it is a shame we don't have some kind of structure in society that a person can take a type of sabbatical at 30, 35 or 40 to read these books.
Even respecting St. John's to the degree I do, I don't know if that is the path I would want my 18 year old kid to take. It seems to me that a person needs a decent amount of life experience to contextualize the importance of what is contained in the classics.
Otherwise, it seems like it would mostly be memorization for test taking purposes that is quickly put to the back of the mind.
Outside of quizzes in Greek classes, there really aren't that many tests to take. The emphasis is on participation in seminar-type classes, projects, and many, many papers. The one place I recall memorization coming into the picture was with Euclid, and that really depended upon the tutor's style (mine was a closed-book, hit the chalkboard and prove proposition I.47 kind of guy, while other cohorts had an easier time).
As a good test-taker, I found it more difficult than the lecture/test paradigm. One could not slack off for a while and then bang through a test — you had to be "on" every day.
St. John's offers an "adult" Master's program which is really pretty cool. That said, it can't replace going through the program as a young person. Re: contextualizing, one can return to the texts throughout life and reflect upon how one's understanding has changed with experience.
"Our online courses are inspired by Hillsdale College's core curriculum—which accounts for one-half of our undergraduate education.
They provide a coherent citizen's education in the liberal arts, which pursues high learning, teaches the Christian faith, forms character, and defends freedom."
I didn't take a "computer class" until I went to graduate school for a Master of Science degree, but I had a successful career in technology before that point. There's a lot to be said for learning how to learn, among many other attributes one gains from such a course of study.
FWIW, there was a religious component to some of the texts, but TBH there's not a thing wrong with studying Thomas Aquinas or Augustine's Confessions regardless of how you feel about this or that religion. It's really interesting to compare Genesis and the Gospel of John, especially when you have a couple years of Greek, regardless of whether or not you pray to $DEITY. The only time I ever went into the school's chapel was to listen to a good friend give piano recitals. I'm reasonably certain Hillsdale is not a seminary and the Christian aspect shouldn't give the majority of prospective students, whether casual online or on-site resident, too much cause for worry.