The One-Year, Self-Directed, Alternative Graduate School Experience

All credit to Chris Guillebeau,
creator of the online manifesto “A Brief Guide to World Domination”.
http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/

The following is taken directly from Chris Guillebeau’s book:
The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live The Life You Want, and Change The World

The One-Year, Self-Directed, Alternative Graduate School Experience

• Subscribe to the Economist and read every issue religiously. Cost: $97 + 60 minutes each week.
• Memorize the names of every country, world capital, and current president or prime minister in the world. Cost: $0 + 3-4 hours once.
• Buy a round-the-world plane ticket or use frequent flyer miles to travel to several major world regions, including somewhere in Africa and somewhere in Asia. Cost: variable, but plan on $4,000.
• Read the basic texts of the major world religions: the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and the teachings of Buddha. Visit a church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a temple. Cost: materials can be obtained free online or in the mail (or for less than $50) + 20 hours.
• Subscribe to a language-learning podcast and listen to each 20-minute episode, five times a week, for the entire year. Attend a local language club once a week to practice. Cost: $0 + 87 hours.
• Loan money to an entrepreneur through Kiva.org and arrange to visit him or her while you’re abroad on your big trip. Cost: likely $0 in the end, since 98% of loans are repaid.
• Acquire at least three new skills during your year. Suggestion: photgraphy, skydiving, computer programming, martial arts. The key is not to become an expert in any of them, but to become funcionally proficient. Cost: variable, but each skill is probably less than three credits of tuition would be a university.
• Read at least 30 nonfiction books and 20 classic novels. Cost: approximately $750 (can be reduced or eliminated by using the library).
• Join a gym or health club to keep fit during your rigorous independent studies. Cost: $25-$75 a month.
• Become comfortable with basic presentation and public speaking skills. Join your local Toastmasters club to get constructive, structured help that is beginner-friendly. Cost: $25 once + 2 hours a wek for 10 weeks.
• Start a blog, create a basic posting schedule, and stick with it fo the entire year. You can get a free blog at WordPress.org. One tip: don’t try to write every day. Set a weekly or biweekly schedule for a while, and if you’re still enjoying it after three months, pick up the pace. Cost: $0.
• Set your home page to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Randompage. Over the next year, every time you open your browser, you’ll see a different, random Wikipedia page. Read it. Cost: $0.
• Learn to write by listening to the Grammar Girl podcast on iTunes and buying Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Cost: $0 for Grammar Girl, $14 for Anne Lamott.
• Instead of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, read The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs, a good summary. Cost: $15.