I recently got to know a few Stanford CS dropouts. Is it common among Computer Science students at the university, and does the University actively encourage such decisions?
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Does a university actively encourage students to drop out? No.
Do very smart, highly ambitious, entrepreneurially oriented students in a field with a rep for big rewards if you come up with the next big thing sometimes decide that they don’t need a college degree and drop out of school to make their fortune? Ask Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates….
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If you would like a sense for the persistence of Stanford students in comparison to those of other colleges, this site may be of interest: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate.
For most colleges/universities, I would guess that the first choice for students who are in a very intense major in an intense school would not be to drop out, but to either transfer to the same major at a less intense colleges, or to transfer to a major which is more aligned with the student’s strengths.
Generally, the most common reason that students drop out of colleges is financial. That would be less common at colleges like Stanford, at which students are predominantly from upper income families.
Two interesting perspectives on dropping out, from people at Stanford (but not entirely specific to Stanford):
PS. I’m not saying that I agree, just that the perspectives are interesting
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My son majored in CS and did summer internships starting after sophomore year. After the junior year summer internship, he was offered a job and enticements to basically drop out and start working. He chose to stay in school, was able to interview at several companies and did not end up at the company that had offered him the job if he dropped out.
I think Stanford students are bright enough to do prestigious internships and I am sure some of them are offered lucrative jobs before graduating.
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I would also just say one of the most common causes for higher ed drop out is financial. Stanford can be generous with FA. But not everyone can comfortably afford their EFC and no one is tracking private loans families take out. A student carrying loans who is offered a job has an even greater incentive to chose to start working sooner.
Many students who drop out for financial reasons are not dropping out because they cannot afford tuition, but because they need to help support their families. Moreover, even a full ride does not provide a place to live and food to eat over summer break.
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Sure, plenty of financial scenarios to go around that might possibly lead to drop out.
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If I were a betting person, I’d guess that more CS Stanford dropouts can afford to drop out than those who can’t afford to stay in school.
Stanford also makes (or at least used to) it easy to stop out for some time, so it’s easy to test the water out of school.
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