Koolau
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Some of the ideas that my DW and I had about college are out-dated and not accurate in today's world. We discuss this with our peers, who support our view since they lived in our picking a college world 40 years ago. Yet, we find out that things today are not as they were 40 years ago. Imagine that. For those who sent kids to school 20 years ago - things have changed since then as well.
I'd be curious (seriously) about what kinds of things you and peers have found "out-dated and especially not accurate" from 20 to 40 years ago.
Certainly in the technical disciplines, some theories have changed. A few constants and calculated values may have been tweaked. Computing power, use of lasers in everything, other technology has exploded. I often joke about leaving university knowing only about the 4 elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. But, in reality, most of the things I learned (factual stuff) has not changed except adding a decimal point or two of certainty (like molecular weights averaged for isotope ratios, etc.).
The theory of why the dinosaurs became extent is now different. The Big Bang is now "virtually accepted" while it was sort of science fiction when I first hear of it.
Certainly, the culture has evolved as have political viewpoints and theory. My cohort worried about next-stop-Viet Nam following graduation and loss of 2S deferment. Now, kids have the "backstop" of technical fields within the military - combat unlikely (though never precluded.)
Drug of choice those 50 years ago was alcohol - wait. I think that's still true, though pot has moved up quite a bit - especially since college pot was (so I've been told) mostly skunk weed or oregano back in the day.
I hear some discussions of going to university to learn about "life" or "exploring culture" or "meeting people from other places." All of these were things we just "did" as students. It wasn't, per se my goal or most of the folks I hung around with in the "geek" fields (I think they're called STEM now.) WE - I would submit without data - went to school to get an education we could afford that would get us into a field (usually, hopefully, of interest) that we could make a decent living in. Since most folks I knew either earned their own way or were dependent upon "demanding" parents for funds, we typically buckled down and "made it" or flunked out in the first semester. I make no value judgments in this, but do agree that there are perhaps some differences from these 1960's type attitudes today - it IS a different time so YMMV. But I would be interested in your take.