Diversity on this campus isn’t exclusive to race, religion and major; there’s also the non-traditional student, fifth––sometimes sixth––year senior, and the dropout.As a fifth-year college student, I can honestly attest to the cliché that college isn’t for everyone.
I’m almost always under stress, worried about maintaining a decent GPA, worried about how I’m going to pay my tuition, so on and so forth. The list is never ending.
Unless you’re going into a profession that requires certain credentials and a set of alphabet that follows your name, I’m not opposed to skipping over college.
Midterms are right around the corner, and some of you are feeling less than confident about your performance thus far this semester. You spent the term majoring in procrastination with a minor in turnin’ up and as you prepare to bubble in that first circle, you think to yourself, ‘what am I doing here?’ Suddenly your sure decision about college becomes questionable, and that thought of dropping out seems more appeasing. Sometimes, it can be.
Not having a degree doesn’t mean you aren’t triumphant. Keep in mind attending college isn’t the only way to be successful, and not all success stories include college.
Let’s be honest, almost every person at some point in their collegiate career has contemplated their choice of higher learning; whether you’ve received your last D allowed for graduation, maxed out your student loans or simply enrolled in classes that do not fulfill your needs, you’ve thought about it.
Some of you may be thinking, “what’s the alternative,” sitting at home filling out applications to a job you’d be just as unhappy doing? Take Steve Jobs, for example. In his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, Jobs talks about his short-lived college experience. He says that after six months he dropped out.
“…and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition…I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out.”
The story of the late Steve Jobs isn’t the only successful college dropout story: There’s Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell Inc. (dropped out at 19); Henry Ford, owner of Ford Motor Company (never graduated high school); Bill Gates, Forbes magazine named him “The Richest Person in the World” (took a two year absence and eventually dropped out); film director and writer Steven Spielberg and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of social media site Facebook, just to name a few.
However, keep in mind that dropping out does require work, too. If you do choose to drop out, be smart, be realistic and know that you need to have a plan. Steve Jobs was a college dropout, but was “…dropping in on the [classes] that looked interesting.” Understand that you might have to put in just as much effort and time that may equal to the minimum four years you would’ve spent in college.
I’m in no way, shape or form encouraging all of us to band together and live out Kanye West’s debut album “College Dropout.” Just be sure that an institution of higher learning is truly where you want to be. It’s a gamble either way. If you’re not passionate about it or if it doesn’t drive you, don’t do it. Save yourself the time and money.
