I was always jealous when my mother talked about school. She learned civics, and was so good at grammar that she ended her career as an editor of publications for the Air Force. She travelled all over America, to places like the AF Academy, and they loved her because she fixed all their bad grammar. This was on a normal (in her case, three year) high school education! Then, when I attended the same school, they prepared me well for college, and I entered into sort of AP classes, because my teachers had a class during lunch hour in music theory, and I was way ahead. This was in a small school: My class had only 45 students. I received a full scholarship to study at a large private university, 'cause I was READY, and graduated cum laude. I went on to a full fellowship at an Ivy League University and became a Fulbright Scholar. So, the story is: You don't need a big school with all fancy stuff to get a solid education. You just need a system that prizes classical education, no frills. Books and good teaching. How do you learn? By reading books and practicing that skill that you will spend your life perfecting.