@adamshostack @gdinwiddie @inthehands There are at least three parts to the answer. The first is that I'm quoting someone (and focusing on what he said about college); I don't have to explain it… Second, most of the incoming students were MS students, not PhD students. They weren't writing papers. Last, this was a very long time ago, when very few people had much CS experience—I was a rare exception. (When I took Data Structures as an undergrad, it was classified as an advanced graduate class.)