User Reviews

When there is a surprise nuclear safety inspection at the power plant, Homer fails a test given to him by the inspectors and causes an actual nuclear meltdown in their testing vehicle, which was actually supposed to be just a simulator. The inspectors learn from Homer's files that he never even took the required college course for his position. When the inspectors demand Mr. Burns do something about it, he first tries to buy them off with gifts but they refuse them. Mr. Burns and his lawyers come to Homer's house that night and tell Homer that he will have to enroll in college and take the course or lose his job.

Homer ends up having a hard time at first applying to colleges with his low-intelligence and screwball ways. Instead of sending out well thought-out essays and stuff like that, Homer sends in pictures and stories of himself being drunk, scarfing down birthday cake, and doing other silly stuff, causing the colleges to think he is crazy and deny all of his applications. Homer then convinces Mr. Burns to pull some strings for him at Springfield University, where Mr. Burns has a chair at. The committee finally accepts Homer's application after Mr. Burns threatens them with violence with a bat(in his old, weak ways of course). Homer is finally going to college.

After watching too many movies about college, Homer initially goes in assuming life there will be all parties. When Marge drives Homer up to the school, he yells out the window at some nerdy-looking kid he sees and tries to point the nerd out to some jock-looking guy, who doesn't get the joke.

Homer immediately goes into prank mode at the school mixer and spikes the punch bowl. When one kid takes a sip of the punch, he realizes that it is spiked and immediately goes and tells the rest of the class about it, and promises them their parents will all be there to pick them up shortly. Homer blames the students lack of fun on the school's "Crusty, bitter old dean," who turns out to really be all young and laid back. Despite this, Homer still continues to see the dean as some crusty old man like in the movies.

Homer initially doesn't take his college course seriously at all, and begins to fail it. After causing a nuclear meltdown at the school, Homer is sent by the dean to be tutored by some of the school's more genius students. Homer initially sees the tutors as nothing but nerds, whom he has already deemed are his "mortal enemies," but after getting to know them a little better, Homer starts to have some fun with them. Homer, with Bart's help, ultimately talks the three boys into helping him take part in the ultimate school prank involving the pig mascot of the school's rival Springfield A&M. The prank ultimately ends up getting Homer's three friends expelled from school. It is also found out that it was because the mascot had some very "important friends," which included former President Richard Nixon.

After the three boys are expelled, Homer lets the three come stay at his house for awhile, much to his family's chagrin. Homer comes up with a scheme to get his friends back into school by setting up some fake scheme where the three nerds will pretend to save the dean's life. The scheme ultimately goes all wrong and puts the dean into the hospital with a broken leg and arm, but after some convincing by Homer, the dean ultimately agrees to let Homer's friends back into school. With the help of his tutors, Homer crams for his final exams, but ends up failing them. Marge then gets Homer to agree to take the course over again with Homer celebrating going back to school. The closing credits have Homer shown in a number of funny scenes at the school taking part in a number of pranks and other fun in the style of classic college movies like "Animal House" and "Porky's"

All in all, this episode is a great Simpsons-style send-up of all of the classic college movies like "Animal House" and "Porky's." I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Homer Goes to College is one of the best for sure, during what I really think is the golden era of The Simpsons, being the first 10 years for sure. Anyway, Homer Goes to College is abundant with college tropes ("the crusty dean!! Was a golden line) and the pig mascot and Richard Nixon was something to behold and quite hilarious for sure. No laugh track necessary at all.

This is one episode I can watch over and over again, and I'm inspired to finally write a review of this on this site. I wonder how this episode would be reworked in current times, with so much campus division and social media.