I grew up as a fairly intellectual child. Certainly not a genius or anything, but I have always had a legitimate desire for knowledge, as I'm sure many people on reddit and around the world are. A desire for almost any kind of knowledge, spanning the arts, sciences, mathematical concepts, philosophy, you name it and put it in an interesting context, and you've got my interest. I dreamed of going on to college/university and pursuing a passion for expanding my knowledge and intellect and as the time to enter college/university came, I quickly began to realize (even more so, 5 years into it) that there is really minimal interest in knowledge and a huge interest in grades and jobs.

College advisers are quick to note that certain majors and even minors aren't very prudent for landing a job post-college. I certainly don't blame them, as it is a cold fact of life that a college degree, for someone without any skills is often necessary to get out of the general careers of starter-level jobs and low-level management. I do criticize the school system which should have been about the accumulation of knowledge (and to a degree it is), but has turned to a for-profit outlook of supplying students with means to (hopefully) obtain jobs.

My question then is not "Why aren't colleges about intelligence and knowledge?" I understand why, but rather "Is there any place where people explore fields like literature, philosophical debate, mathematical concepts, psychology and so on, solely for the purpose of collectively expanding the knowledge of the human race?"

I imagine how interesting a place could be if people like Socrates' students were to just collect and share ideas and expand on theories about anything that was of interest to them. Like the movie "Accepted" (I know it was cheesy and over the top, but it does bring up good points), where people are allowed to explore their ideas and through this exploration, expand on themselves as individuals.

TL'DR Since college has become largely about getting a degree to find a job, is there any place left where people learn for the sake of learning and expanding as an individual?