| Tim Ferriss posted a very good article on this matter [1].
Personally though, I would advocate for everyone to at least try college, before deciding that the college path isn't for them. I think especially in the tech community, we expect superb technical instruction to be handed to us. But as many commenters have already pointed out, most of the value of an undergraduate education comes from what you learn outside of the classroom, not from the instruction you receive in class. Those lessons in social interaction, personal growth, and commitment typically will serve as a strong foundation for you as you go after the next big thing. And that foundation I think can be very reassuring, especially if your dream is to start up your own company. If your start up doesn't pan out, you will still have your college degree as back up, which will make it much easier for you to apply for a job or network with old friends to find one. Yes, it may be expensive, but there are a lot of financial resources there that you can take advantage of if you look hard enough. Many colleges (like Stanford) have an amazing financial aid program that make it very affordable for you to attend. As cletus correctly points out, college is a means to an end, but you will only know whether it can be a mean or not unless you tried it. [1] http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/09/29/8-steps-to-g... |