<p>Major in entrepreneurship is kind of questionable… I understand the accounting, finance, MIS, supply chain… concentration, but entrepreneurship is one of those that I am not sure why B schools offer it. As you can see, you haven’t really majored in it yet and you are making $30K/year. Imagine when you complete that major, you’d make ZERO dollar per year because no company needs an entrepreneurship grad to run their business (sort of teasing, don’t debate this point!). Then you would go on and start some business. So you would be back to where you are. Dropping out of college to pursue business… Is there a fellowship (Thiel?) that gives you $100K to drop out of college? Have you checked that out?</p>
<p>I think that there are many routes to achieve a goal and that routes can be circuitous and often the circuitous route is more interesting.<br>
I would recommend dropping out of college to pursue your business only if you think that the following is possible:
Would or could you go back to any college in the future?
Is there merit money that you would be giving up that you probably won’t get back when you reapply for college in the future?</p>
<p>You might want to check out to see if your college lets you take a year absence or let’s you go part time for less tuition, rather than drop out completely. It will be hard to transfer back into the same college if your company is not really successful, so you would have to go to a “lower ranked” college if you try to return in 1-2 years. If your company is successful, then you could probably attend college almost anywhere, say 4-5 years in the future.</p>
<p>“Oh for goodness sake - the only thing you lose by dropping out now is whatever merit aid you’ve been awarded that’s reducing the cost of school. And if you can earn enough to make up for that, then who cares?”</p>
<p>This. You can go back and get a degree if you choose anytime, either P/T or F/T. Thru trial and error of running your business full time you will learn more than any hack business professor is going to teach you. In the words of Woody Allen “Those who can’t do, teach. Those who can’t teach, teach gym”</p>
<p>If you decide to do the business full time, I would suggest investing some of that earned income into savings for future expenses and for possible college costs in the future.</p>
<p>Also, thinking out I’d the box here…if your major is entrepreneur and your school offers this…is it possible for you to earn college credit for running this business? Perhaps you could discuss this option with an advisor at your college.</p>
<p>I am an average Joe running my own business. I have learned valuable skills from my college years, I think it is worthwhile to go through the process. However, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates did not think of that. If you think you are above and beyond the average Joe, go ahead, drop the college and run your business your way and see if that will survive. Just let you know that only about 10% of the small business survived in the current environment, that is why most people work for some one instead.</p>
<p>It is probably one of those kinds of majors that is more popular among high school seniors than in real life, like neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and video game design. Business schools know where the market is…</p>
<p>Actually you don’t necessarily need a BA/BS to get a masters. We have a friend who is doing that at Kellogg right now. He started college, left to start a business which he’s been running successfully for 30+ years.</p>
<p>That aside, I happen to think that finishing an undergrad degree is MORE important now than thirty years ago and I think the OP should take a leave of absence or at the very minimum transfer to a public school where the OP can take classes more slowly, at night etc. to finish the degree.</p>
<p>I own a business. I recommend graduating from college. Yes, people are successful who don’t have degrees, but of my friends and associates who own businesses no one regrets having the degree, and every single one who doesn’t have one wishes they do. </p>
<p>Why get an education? I don’t think it’s to learn a specific skill like how to run a business - it’s to expand your mind, expose you to new things and make you a well rounded person. I was an econ major and I’m glad I understand a lot of things going on in the world right now.</p>
<p>You may not always be capable or desire to run this particular business, and you just may need to work for someone else. Having that degree may be the difference in getting the interview or not. In my line of work you’d be tossed in the no pile immediately because of the lack of degree. </p>
<p>Being an intelligent and educated person is never a waste.</p>
<p>A group of high-school students at a local high-school formed a tech company many years ago which a large tech company bought out. They hired the company lead for almost $200K/year. One of my son’s friends was with the company and worked with them for a while. He went back and got his degree and is working as a software manager now.</p>
<p>The wealthiest guy that I know doesn’t have a college degree and I’d guess that he has more than anyone on College Confidential.</p>
<p>But is it really all just about the amount of money someone has? Are we really no deeper than that? Yes, people can accumulate wealth without a college degree, but education is never a waste and I don’t know a single person who regrets it.</p>
<p>You have a very narrow view of what constitutes education. I happen to agree with Mark Twain, who wrote, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” There are a thousand and one ways to educate yourself, from Khan Academy to specialty learning cruises to Elderhostel. It does not have to involve attending a college campus and sitting in lectures for 4 straight years</p>
<p>I would be hesitate to answer OP’s question directly. An unconventional question posing to a group of conventional people does some injustice, I think ;)</p>
<p>If it were me, I would take a year off and see what happens with the business. Also, you can finish your degree part time taking evening classes. Of course this is coming from someone who went to college for two years and then left (because I had no idea what I wanted to do and changed my major 4 times in those 2 years). After a few years, I went back to school taking evening classes while working (with much more focus - I was in the business world so knew what I liked). Also, I found a school that had real world business people teaching the evening classes instead of professors. I think I had a much better education learning business and accounting from people who really did it as their job every day (CFOs, Marketing Directors, etc.) instead of teachers who teach it, but never actually did it out in the world. I got my degree (they took most of my credits as transfers) and am doing fine now. Don’t stay if you hate it and don’t see any point in it.</p>
<p>Based on what you’ve said in hour post, my vote would be for the leave of absence. Focusing on your business now may mean giving up the traditional, four years after high school, college experience, (which you are not enjoying anyway) but not the chance to get a degree. Universities are not going anywhere, and even if you can’t go back to the one you are currently attending, there will always be one that will take you. Plenty of older students are pursuing degrees. You could, too.</p>
<p>Being a successful entrepreneur requires more than having a good idea and running with it (not that I am knocking the OP’s success). At some point, he/she will need financing to expand- does he/she have the skills and knowledge required to figure out how to persuade a VC firm to invest? or a bank to lend a million dollars or 5M or 10M? Does he/she have the skills to figure out if someone is stealing his/her IP? and if so, what is the appropriate recourse? and most of all, is there enough “there there” to figure out what is proprietary and can’t be stolen, vs. what any other 19 year old with a computer can figure out?</p>
<p>The world of industry is filled with the Kodak’s and the Edsels and the 8 track tapes and the Blockbuster Video’s and all sorts of fantastic ideas which went away when a better fantastic idea showed up. I know someone who launched a ran a small chain of travel agencies (probably 20 at its peak) with a terrific and creative idea which basically blew up when Priceline came in. Oh well.</p>
<p>If the current business is so exciting and compelling that the OP can’t imagine doing anything else for now- great, go do it. If it’s about not wanting to study something boring for the sake of 40K a year- I say, go study something not boring. Surely a top 20 college has at least 4 courses a semester that won’t be a snooze. And still allow the OP to run the business on the side. And potentially become a better entrepreneur.</p>
<p>Go learn Mandarin for god’s sake. Or take advanced programming courses. Or industrial design or electrical engineering. Or advanced statistics. All of which will make the OP a better Entrepreneur than a degree in becoming an entrepreneur. What savvy business founder these days doesn’t wish they knew Mandarin?</p>
(sort of teasing, don’t debate this point!). Then you would go on and start some business. So you would be back to where you are. Dropping out of college to pursue business… Is there a fellowship (Thiel?) that gives you $100K to drop out of college? Have you checked that out?</p>