College: have colleges been obsoleted by NET, google. free access to truth in digital age.?

Question

free access via Net, google.

are college obsolete in digital age.

Answer 1

College can't be obsoleted by access to knowledge. If that was the case college would have been obsolete when books were invented.

Answer 2

Not in a million. There is no substitute for directed study in an in-class environment, plus question-and-answer sessions with your peers and  immediate teacher feedback.

Just for starters, how would you know whether or not something you read online was accurate or not - there's a lot of garbage out there. Also, the caliber of your professors can make a huge difference in the knowledge gained. Which is why graduates of Harvard, for example, have an advantage over a graduate of Podunk U.

Nor is there any substitute for that piece of paper  that says you successfully completed a course of study at University X. None.

Answer 3

Nope.  first, credentials rule - always did, always will.  Next, while this may be the information age, knowledge is gain by systematic study not by random queries.  Finally, credentials rule - always did, always will.

Answer 4

No.  Never trust what you read on the Internet. People go to college to get a job--no employer is going to care how much you learned from google.