[gumby]

Was that at MIT? I think the culture was key. I started a company with a fellow alum 15 years after graduating. We hadn't known each other as students (!) but we had a lot of attitudes in common (which we'd both acquired there).

I did study with other students and learned a lot from them. I'm still friends with a lot of people I met there. The stuff we were learning was often the source of interesting conversations. I'm sorry that didn't work out for you. I do know some of the undergraduate dorms are more isolating than others.

Also MIT is very research oriented -- a lot of faculty only tolerate undergrads because they can be put to work on research. That experience had a huge influence on what I did after graduating and how I approached what I was learning in class. Also by being in the lab I met lots of interesting people from outside the institute who visted for one reason or another.