Quit university for self-directed learning?

[MVProduct]

I'm 21 and currently in a business program studying to receive a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). I've spent around $30,000 for two years worth of university (that includes all expenses/fees/meal plan/residence fees/etc), and yet I haven't really learned anything from the formal education aspect. The things I did learn in university primarily came from participating in extracurricular and social activities.

On the other hand, I've learned much more (about business) from reading books, listening to podcasts and watching video courses. I was thinking- since I'm currently following the conventional path that everybody else is trailing on- I'm going to be receiving average, mediocre results. What if I dropped university to pursue my own self-directed learning? I'd also be working on my own startup. The downside to all this is that I won't be receiving any sort of degree or certification to validate what I've learned- but I suppose my startup would show for that instead.

Thing is, school is kind of holding me back. I think as entrepreneurs, we need to focus and put in pure effort into our ventures. A full course-load just holds me back, like a leash on a dog that prohibits it from roaming free.

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this. There are a couple things holding me back from jumping the gun:

What will my friends and peers think of me?

What if I don't make it as an entrepreneur?

What if I need to revert back to Plan B; the traditional, 9-to-5 job life?

What if I don't make enough income to succeed as an entrepreneur?

What if I become homeless in my 20s as a result of not completing my degree?

What is the probability that I will regret not sticking through with university and completing my degree? ​

These are some of the thoughts holding me back. What are your thoughts and opinions? Has anybody else here gone through a similar situation or under the same dilemma?

 

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[splok]

What will my friends and peers think of me?

Does it really sound like a good idea to let what people think of you drive this decision? You already know that they'll think you're crazy.

What if I don't make it as an entrepreneur?

What if I need to revert back to Plan B; the traditional, 9-to-5 job life?

What if I don't make enough income to succeed as an entrepreneur?

Aren't these all the same question? What if you do fail? What if you fail but try again anyway? If you fail for the next few years and decide it was all a terrible idea and you actually want to go back to school and get on with a stable career like a normal person, will you be in a worse position than you are now? You'll be older, but you'll probably make much better use of your time.

What if I become homeless in my 20s as a result of not completing my degree?

Do you actually fear becoming homeless? Do you think people in their 20s become instantly destitute and unemployable if they don't have a degree? If you're just looking for things to be afraid of, don't worry about being homeless. Worry about starvation! also RATS!

What is the probability that I will regret not sticking through with university and completing my degree?

Well, that's not really a fair question is it? But the opposite is easy! You'll probably never regret the decision to stay in university if you make it. It's what everyone expects you to do, and you'd have to be crazy to do otherwise, right?

Has anybody else here gone through a similar situation or under the same dilemma?

I spent lots of years in university, and I wish I hadn't.

 

[Deleted21961]

What will my friends and peers think of me?

And what are they thinking now? How do you know what they think? How do you know they tell you the truth? How many people you are sure of think bad about you? Did the world stop in result of their thoughts?

What if I don't make it as an entrepreneur?

Then you won't make it as an entrepeneur. Do you keep worrying what happens if you don't make it as an astronaut? basketball player? human? What does it mean 'to be entrepreneur' anyway? Isn't that just a word?

What if I need to revert back to Plan B; the traditional, 9-to-5 job life?

What if you lose everything because of hurricane? Medical error? Government officer error?

What if I don't make enough income to succeed as an entrepreneur?

What if you try everything else but enterpreneurship and still don't make enough?

What if I become homeless in my 20s as a result of not completing my degree?

There are homeless people and they live. What if you fall prey to some student-killer as a result of doing your degree? Until you have body, there are still open possibilities in this physical world.

What is the probability that I will regret not sticking through with university and completing my degree?

3.1415%

 

[MayaMagpie]

How much longer would you have to attend university to receive your degree and how much more would it cost you?
Would you still have access to the extracurricular activities that you learned from in the past?

There is always the chance of failing. Which is when you should get up and try again. You don't need a degree to survive out there, flipping burgers doesn't require extensive qualifications.
You seem to have a lot of doubts and I understand, dropping out is a big step. Is there a possibility to go on part time (if dropping out completely is just too much) or does it not make sense, what with tuition and expenses in general?

 

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[Angus]

You're searching validation in a forum without even saying what you have to offer.
You have a lot of self doubt and that's not a good thing.

Okay, you want to be an entrepreneur someday, nice, what have you done to actually become one? Have you got a plan other than the silly "read as much stuff I can get my hands on until one day I wake up and start a business from scratch"?

Are you already using all your free time to reach your goal? If not, why do you think you'll change your mind once out of university?
Will you get in debt if you continue? Too much debt?
If not, you should just keep going until you're 100% sure of your decisions. Network and plan for the future.

 

[tafy]

You have done 2 years so do the 1-2 more and finish it, self learn as much as you can in the next 2 years so you come out a rockstar, join a startup, then start your own.
Sent from my RM-892_eu_euro1_274 using Tapatalk

 

[Mattie]

I would say finish it, because you don't have that much left. If all the failures your worried about happening happen, well at least you still have a degree to fall back on. I finished my degree even if I found out in the middle, I didn't agree with it, but I can say it was a foundation of learning. I went to a private business school so it's quite different than a University. I learned a lot from my professor's on leadership, studying habits, researching, presentation, communications. It's a foundation. The learning on your own is for a life time. I do think it is the student, some times that determines whether they get something out of it. I listened to many students complain about my professor's and they thought they were jerks. I loved my professor's because I knew they challenged me, expected me to perform at my best, and when they made us do tedious things, it wasn't to be a jerk, but to build character.

It all comes down to your attitude, and how you perceive things. It's hard to believe you didn't learn something of value that will lead to your success in being an entrepreneur. I don't know what school you go too, but even when I watch Business classes from Harvard on you tube I get something out of it. College is just a foundation. What you build from there is up to you.

 

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[NicoleMarie]

I actually just went through almost the exact same thing. As soon as I finished the book, something went off that said, "Whoa, I gotta get out there and start a business ASAP!" I told my mom. It didn't go over well. Eventually I told her "Well if this completely fails and I can't do it, I can always go back to college. Just let me try this route for a while."
Well 2 months in, she's already accepted that this is the route I'm going. I have an Associate's Degree and I too didn't "learn" that much and I actually wish I had read this book before then. Like MJ has said, college trains you to become a great employee, not entrepreneur. Take that tens of thousands of dollars and 2-3 years and put it into your business! Do you know how much of a head start in both time AND money that will give you?? Not to mention Google and just talking to people will give you TONS of APPLICABLE knowledge. What you learn in college will not only be what everyone else is learning, it could also become obsolete in a few years. Yes, you don't need a business degree to start a business.

Even if I could go to college for free, I wouldn't at this point because I've at least got an Associate's degree and that's still 3 years of dragging things out. Not to mention the stress. Like you said, college workload will hold you back. I wasn't miserable in college and I did learn, but it wasn't necessary and it DEFINITELY wasn't worth the thousands of dollars.

I've had surprisingly positive reactions when I told people about my business, especially when I said I researched advice and network with successful entrepreneurs. I think most people are getting used to people starting businesses. For people that I don't think I could trust, I just give them bland answers like I'm "undecided, freelancing for now" and "in transition mode."

What if you can't find a job because there's 20 million graduates but 8 million jobs? Who says going to college guarantees you a job even? If anything, experience is what most people want to see. What better skills to show them than entrepreneurship? Even if you fail, you can tell them what you went through and learned.
If you don't make it, you tweak the business or try again. Once you start on it, you feel less like giving up. You would have to spend OVER $30,000 on your business alone to break even with college. You would spend that much on college, but not on a business that would earn you way more than a job? I quit college and started a business 2 months ago and I already feel relief even though I haven't earned money. It feels weird at first but talk to people on here and research success stories. You'll find that startups aren't filled with people with business degrees, rich people, or geniuses. Also you should either try to live at home, get a job, or both so you aren't pressured to pay bills with your business, which means not being homeless. You will feel better knowing that job is temporary and is funding something bigger.

By the way, reread chapter 28.

 

[Mattie]

hmm...I just must have been lucky! I noticed my education was totally worth it after I read M.J.'s book. I went to a regular college when I was younger and felt the same way. The professor's didn't really care if you were in class or succeeded. I hate the school and the professor's. The Second College I went to was different. They cared about your success. They were out there in the field themselves and brought it into the class room. No I didn't get a job right afterward because of location and small area where all local grads applied for the same jobs. I thought maybe I had wasted my time. It's kind of odd, because after I read M.J.'s book everything that was taught comes back and falls into place what my professor's were getting at.

For an example: One professor brought in a box and opened it up all the time every week. A pile of leadership and success books. Another was from Africa and sat under a tree reading every book he could get his hands on while he was poor and watched goats. When I was going through hardship, they pushed me to finish my degree. It's not so much about the text books, but that I formed good habits. Our grades were dependent on attendance. There was no excuse for missing. There was no excuse for not reaching your full potential. There was one term my heart wasn't in it, I lost my confidence, and wasn't doing my best. They new it, and they new my abilities and capabilities. I passed the class, but one of them failed any way because I didn't reach my potential. I could have complained and won my complaint. I didn't because I understood the lesson. He expected me to be the A student I was and we both knew I could do better. I didn't get the internship I wanted for the same reason. Three of them held me back from that internship.

I had the one again for the same class and A's the second round. I have an odd way of looking at things. I know my college education wasn't about text books and jobs. It was about being committed to success. Challenging myself through hardships and doing it anyway when others said quit, and give up, and it was a waste of time. I was investing in myself more than an education. If I couldn't finish college, than being an entrepreneur I certainly wouldn't finish it. It was about finishing what you start even if you don't feel like it, and you're hearts not in it. It's building character. It wasn't what my professor's taught me in education, but being a leader, devoted, dedicated, and choosing success instead of failure. The education: prepared me to be an entrepreneur. I had a bad habit of starting things and quitting when things got hard. I had fears, was under severe stress, and wanted to quit lots of times. I was angry with my professor's, but i knew exactly why they were doing what they were doing.

Sure you don't need to have an education to be an entrepreneur. Perhaps a lot of things are true that you say. It's just a lot of money to invest in yourself and come out of it with no degree. I guess that is the way I looked at it, if I already had that much in student loans, I might as well go to the finish line and not half way. This is the thing I've watched to many people go half way and never the finish line in relationships, education, or entrepreneurship. When things get hard they quit and give up. It's habits we form. It's a habit and pattern that follows you in every avenue of your life. Commitment to the task at hand. If I would have quit back than, I can guarantee you I wouldn't have ever read MJ's book or be in this forum. I would have just settled.

 

[sle3pyguii]

1. If they're your friends, they'll support you, be worried, or a combination of the two.
2. Then revert back to fund your entrepreneurship. It's not unheard of.
3. Then either 1. try another venture in conjunction with the first, 2. find a better venture. 3. find a job to increase your income, like consulting, then use it to scale your venture even more.
4. I have yet to see one of my high school friends who didn't go to college or dropped out go homeless. At the very least, they got a part-time job somewhere like a grocery store. If you believe that sort of paying job is beneath you, then you will indeed be homeless.
5. I'd say it'll depend on your success. If you succeed, you'll probably be happy you dropped out. If you fail, you'll wonder how a college degree might've changed your outcome.

I'd say finish uni. It's a nice fallback if you ever decide to get a job. It's true a degree doesn't guarantee you a job, but it helps to have one if you're ever competing in for an entry-level position against a non-degreed person with similar qualifications.

I went through uni and although I didn't use any knowledge i learned in college, I made life-long friends that I'd die for, participated in activities that could only be conceived in a college student's ridiculous mind, and made some awesome memories that I'll have for the rest of my life.

So was college worth it? In terms of learning, definitely not.
In terms of memories and people I've met, I wouldn't change one thing. It cost me a lot of money, but some things are worth it.

 

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