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Should I drop out of college

I am a college senior, 1 more semester to graduation. But I’ve been always unhappy about the college life. Studying for exam, exam and exam. I told this to my father but my father stays strong on his point that we must get a diploma to get a job. What should I do? I’m frustrated.

  • If you know precisely what you want to do, and if this goal doesn’t need a graduate diploma, then you can leave college as soon as you shielded you ass (more about this later). If you don’t know what you want to do, except you don’t like college, you should continue it and graduate. A diploma can’t hurt, so if you don’t have something better to do, don’t waste your past years for nothing.

    About leaving college: I remember reading something about young Richard Branson. He wanted to leave college, like you, to found a company. His father said him to protect his ass before leaving college. So he took his phone, and found some customers and financing for his first project. With this first step achieved, he left college. Maybe it’s a legend forged lately by Virgin’s marketing services (it would not surprise me), but the advice is good.

    From my personal experience (I’m 47 now and I left school early to found my first company, which was a failure), I’m really happy to have taken this decision for myself. But I can’t honestly give this advice to any young buddy. The probability for it to be a good idea is very low. And when you do this, your life path will be very different and certainly harder than with college diploma. But maybe you will be happier. It’s my case, so it may be possible for you too.

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  • Dude you’re one semester away and that too the easiest one. It doesn’t sound like you’re quitting to do something better you’re just contemplating quitting because you don’t like it. Suck it up, finish your degree and use this time to not take college particularly seriously, figure out what you want to do next, use your available resources to try stuff out, and get laid.

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    • +1. A college degree shows the world that you are capable of starting and finishing a long-term project. This is invaluable card to have in your deck. Sure, some of the most notable founders left college a few months shy of graduating, but ALL of these people were wildly successful before they left college. If you’re already amking millions, great, go for it. Otherwise, stay in school and show the world (and potential employers) that you have what it takes to finish a long-term project.

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  • My perception of someone who got through 7/8 (a guess) of college, then quit just a semester before graduation, is way different from someone who did not attend college. The former is a quitter. The latter is, well, I don’t know, but at least I don’t begin my perception of him/her as a quitter.

    Perceptions matter, even when they don’t reflect the reality of the person or the situation. Perceptions are not intentional, they just are.

    So you’re in control of this perception that people will have of you — for a long time. Quitting just before finishing lasts a long time.

    I would suggest that you make the absolutely best use of these next six months, whether it’s focusing on technical skills, establishing connections, learning everything you can about what you might be interested in, and oh, passing all of your courses.

    It’s possible (and true for some) that you will never have as much free time as now.

    You can do it. Hunker down.

    Guess what; work and careers have these times as well. Show yourself that how you handle this situation (boredom/lack of interest/whatever is behind how you feel now) will help you to be able to handle other situations later.

    One more thing. Is your family supporting you now in any way, whether it’s through (helping with) tuition, a place to live, food, etc. It would be respectful of you to honor your family by completing what you are so close to finishing. Even if they don’t realize it, you would be able to know that about yourself, that you did this in a respectful way.

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    • Hi. I’m the guy who posted the very first comment. Your comments about being a quitter in opinion of others after quitting school are true. During my career, everybody was surprised when I told them I had no diploma and why (I was considered as one of the bests of their peers by people graduated from the highest european schools). And I know some people (not the smartest) couldn’t trust me because of this difference. But sometimes, being this kind of quitter is a strong weapon. When I disagreed with high level people (C-suite and VPs), they always took me extremely seriously when I threatened to quit, specially when I had no recovery plan or anything to protect my ass. Because they knew, “proof in hand”, I’m capable of such thinks, while they themselves are not.

      Those situations are quite seldom. But when people know you can do what is the best choice, regardless the price for yourself, whether it is for the good of you or your company, it is a great asset. To be honest, this great asset is useful in a very limited number of situations, but those situations are always very important. The inconveniences are not so painful, but they occur nearly everyday. That’s why in my first comment, I said I can’t give the advice to quit to any young buddy.

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  • Say you do drop out of college, question of the day is who’s paying for your college tuition? Also if you drop out where will you live and what will you do after that. Unless you’re NOT paying for your own tuition, you’re being disrespectful to your dad by dropping out and wasting his money! Unless, you have a concrete business plan and an idea what you want to do with investors or a job line up, take that risk. If you can repay back your dad (if he’s paying for your tuition) the tuition and more then maybe you can consider it. But if you have NO plan don’t do it. A semester can change everything and you may meet people that’ll help you out in the long run. Stick it out in order to be successful we all have to do things we don’t like!

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    • +1

      Also… You’re one semester away.

      My friends and wife were making thousands in the dot com bubble when I was one semester away too and it seemed crazy to finish. But that was 15 years ago. You’ll see the same thing too later. You’ve barely been alive yet.

      Finish.

      Plus you / your family spent a fortune on it. And four years of your life.

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  • Graduate.

    For your last semester take less demanding classes or “cupcakes.”

    Use your time to have FUN. Again, ENJOY yourself.

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  • Real talk – you don’t need an education to get a job. You need skills and experience, general education knowledge, and the Network to succeed. BUT look at college like this. In 20 years, there will not be too many jobs where a college degree won’t be required/expected because higher education is in great demand. You’ve already invested time and money, so make it pay for its return. Also, enjoy this time of learning and networking with your future coworkers and employers, the gatekeepers to many jobs in the future… On a side note, had a conversation with a friend the other day about how she worked at her company for 15 years and finally was up for partner and they wouldn’t give it to her because she didn’t have a degree. When she started it wasn’t a big whoop but as all your employees are smarter and more educated than you, it can breed resentment and low morale. Before you decide on dropping out, have a clear vision of what you want to do as in your company is already making money. Before you decide on dropping out, think of all the doors you are closing with just needing to invest a year of time now. Before you drop out think about living in a world where a bachelors is equivalent to a high school diploma. If you’re ok with living that way, then proceed. Just remember high school drop outs are rarely able to show commitment, finish what they start, retain jobs, make higher wages, and earn the respect of their employees. Sorry for the harsh view, but I’m with your pops on this one.

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  • You should definitely drop out now, especially with 1 semester left. Actually, drop out just a day before graduation. It’s the best fuck-you-for-real salute to whoever has been paying for your college and wanted you to accomplish something.

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  • Some people dropped school and had exceptional destiny. You can find lots of stories about those successful people. But they all had really hard times. Many human beings are like this: the hardest your life, the harder you will fight for success.

    Drop out college, and for sure your life will be much more difficult. Maybe it will give you the energy to fight against it, and you will have a great fate. But be ready to suffer from this all your life.

    If you still hesitate, you can think about an alternative: take an ax and cut your right hand. It will also make your future life much more difficult, and it may give you the will and energy to fight against your handicap, so that you may become extraordinarily successful. Would you bet on this ?

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  • I’m a graduated and I have never need to use my degree to get a job (I’m a freelance and own my own projects) but if I had left in last semester, I had regretted that decision for sure…

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  • College is a piece of paper. If you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars and are 5 months away, I don’t see why you wouldn’t go that last 12.5% to complete it.

    Even if you have a job offer or a great startup idea – there’s nothing stopping you from at least trying to ramp up slow until you get the diploma.

    If, on the other hand, you didn’t spend any money to speak of and the diploma is literally worthless, then the question would be: why did you spend 7 semesters on this already?

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