Spot check of his links yielded a quite disappointing 100% failure rate: the lecture notes he links to for "phenomenology" (which ordinary people would call high energy physics) are all bad.[1]

Also, I don't think you can discount the value of community when studying anything as fundamentally social as theoretical physics. Maybe a modern Gauss could make his way to the edge of human understanding, and beyond, on his own, but most of us need the insights and encouragement of our peers. I would say that a smart, intrepid physicist should audit classes. Impress the professor with your effort, earnestness, and ability, and there's no way you'd be kicked out of class no matter what the rules say.

[1] http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~Gadda001/goodtheorist/pheno....