Where I am headed?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I am just a kid. </p>

<p>I am 17 and a freshman in college. I am not sure what I want in life in yet. I got to a medicore school; large state school. One of those steroptypical large southern State schools. </p>

<p>Everything about me is pretty normal. The only deviations that when I was 15, I start a business with 200 bucks that is probably worth 120k now; I take ikn about 8 grand a month in revenue. Then people start to give me oppotunities and I excelled in them. I did internsips where it would never been possible if it wasn't for the business. I worked for companies that accepted who I am and sort of fostered my entreprenuerial spirit. My current job is with a company that takes 500k a year, and basically, I get a budget, a time frame, and a goal, and I get paid well to do things for them and I guess I am okay in that. I am also the minorty partner. I conduct mostly marketing campaigns. </p>

<p>But I do not excel in the classroom. After I started my business, I just had such a stronger desire to challenge the real world and as a result, I pretty much put my school work on the back burner. I am not a dumb kid and I maintained medicore GPA in high school and so far in college. </p>

<p>I applied to several top schools in the country out of high school. A combination my ECs and several good recommendation letters from people I worked for; hedge fund mangaers, business school profs got me on-site interviews with a few of them. I live nearby to the schools I applied so 2 of them granted me informal interviews with an admission office. It wasn't really an interview but rather a talk to get to me better. Eventually, I was rejected/waitlisted from all of them due to my grades and SAT. An admission director told me that I had the ECs to go to anywhere but just not enough SAT. </p>

<p>So I ended up in a state school with a scholarship in their honors program. I am not really happy here since the business prgoram here is not given enough attention. I want to transfer but then again, I dont know if my grades will cut it and I didn't really think of transferring until recently and I do not meet the basic course requirements for a lot of school's business program. </p>

<p>So I am not even sure what I want to do? I even thought about dropping out; I am doing horrible in an entreprenuership class even I manage employees and grow a business in addtion to working as consultants to companies. I do a lot of things in free time relating to business but I just can not excel in school and I have no idea why. I work hard but I just totally blows in all my business classes. I guess the stuff on paper just dont make sense to me whereas the real life stuff does. </p>

<p>So in the end, I am still unsure and unclear where I should do. I am not happy here; in school, no one gives a crap about me. But outside, everyone gives me a chance. I dont know why: I always considered myself lucky just to be where I am. I remmeber applying for random internships over the summer and people, wether I am even remotely qualified or not, always give me an interview and sit down and talk me and encourage me to update them on my progress.</p>

<p>I guess I can try to transfer but if a school were to accept me, it would probably largely based on my ECs as my grades are generally medicore so are my test scores. Then again, reading the transfer booklet where they say, "our average transfer GPA is....." really discourages me.</p>

<p>I have done 2 internships so far since HS( 1 at a PR agency and 1 2.5 yr internship at a top 5 biz school), runs a business, works for a real estate developing marketing plans( think I will get a license soon, taking classes for that now), and serves a minority partner(marketing consulant) in the 500k business I was talking about. My HS UW GPA was something like 3.1 and weighted pushes me towards 4, something close to 3.9 I think. My first semster college GPA is prolly around 3.0-3.5; it took em a really long time to adjust to college and the new enviroment for some reason. For the first month, I couldn't sleep at night for some reason and that totally screwed me over. And my SAT is 1250(highest score Math+ English)</p>

<p>And I apologize for the long post, I am just really confused as to where I am headed. </p>

<p>Please advice. </p>

<p>Thanks. </p>

<p>Ben</p>

2

<p>What would happen if you took a semester off to pursue your business interests? No more fooling around -- this is real life, get down to business and make all the projects produce?</p>

<p>If everything you say is true -- then you should have more than enough income to cover your living expenses and move forward. A semester or a year down the road, you'll know if you need college or not.</p>

3

<p>try Babson College...</p>

<p>They are essentially an undergraduate business college that is well-regarded by people in-the-know. I don't know their academic standards, but even if their academic standards are high I think they may make an exception for you since they are very business-orientated.</p>

4

<p>Hi Ben,</p>

<p>I just popped in to say yay Ben!</p>

<p>Don't agonize so much about where you are at college - clearly you will be successful in life. My advice is to stay where you are with school, because freshman year is always very different from what you expected in college. I am of the opinion that no matter where you are, there will be great teachers, great opportunities, great classes and great people to meet. Will they all be that way? Of course not. Might things be better elsewhere? They might. Or not. Or they might be similar and when you make the change it might really be you who changed so that you bloom in the new place.</p>

<p>You sound like a great kid with tons of wonderful opportunities and if classes and grades are not your thing, then don't worry. You'll be one of those folks who are the CEO and hire the kids from schools "better" than yours. </p>

<p>As long as your current school has enough business classes to teach you what you'll need to know to run your own company in the (surprisingly) short time (4 years - the time you were in high school) until you're out there running your own company, I'd say don't worry so much about the name of the school and do worry about taking all the pertinent classes wherever you are. You will be a success no matter what school you attend.</p>

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<p>I second for staying put. But here is a bit of a twist from me. I would suggest for you to focus on your school work, social network at school, than on your work now. There is a time and place for everything. You will be working for the rest of your life. Take this opportunity to get to know kids at your school, they will become your network later on for work. Take this opportunity to take courses you would never have again later in life. It doesn't sound like you really need college to help with your business because you seem to have a certain nature intuition for it. Look at school as an enrichment for you. Take some literature, art, music or political science classes. Someday when you become very successful, you want to be able sound intelligent and interesting at parties. You don't want to be a one dimensional person. I went to Colgate many years ago. It didn't teach me a trade, but it taught me how to think and be a good problem solver. It taught me many more things outside of classrooms.</p>

<p>Don't drop out of college. Unless you could find a really good fit, stay at your current school. If it's a large university, you will be able to find your niche, you just need to put some effort into it. Put the same amount of effort into school as you are into your work. Enjoy your college years, you will never get it back again (not with any amount of money).</p>

6

<p>Hi guys, thanks for all the awesome responses. </p>

<p>Here are just a few of the concerns about my current school, </p>

<p>First of all, it is a great school but maybe not right for business, its business school is very new and unproven. We have a very limited selection of classes. As a honors student, I have more oppoturnities for advancement through some honors seminar classes. </p>

<p>But overall, I just feel like the classes selection is inadequate. It also a technical school and its liberal art core is not good either. But it is really good for the tech majors. </p>

<p>Also, I feel like it is too close to home, that never really occured to me until my parents causally drove over on a week night and we go out to dinner. I live within, I guess easily drivable distance, within the school. It is also walkable. </p>

<p>So the concern over the school's liberal arts/business cirrulum and its location bothers me somewhat, but I am not sure if I have a better choice if I do transfer. </p>

<p>So will I actually get in anywhere better? I have never been too familar with the college admission procees so I am not sure. </p>

<p>Thanks again, </p>

<p>Ben</p>

7

<p>Just curious, but what's your reason for going to college?</p>

<p>It sounds like you really just want to do business, which you seem to be doing pretty well with already.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
First of all, it is a great school but maybe not right for business, its business school is very new and unproven.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You pretty clearly already know how to do business successfully. I doubt you need a business degree. I would seriously consider majoring in something else - something somewhat related to business, like economics, or something unrelated, like one of those tech majors that are apparently very good. In addition to the enrichment, an "outside" major may help you in business, because it will give you the background knowledge to recognize a greater variety of business opportunities. For instance, a computer science degree would allow you to recognize new business opportunities in computer science and software, to separate feasible from infeasible ideas, and to better evaluate the qualifications of the technical people that you hire.</p>

<p>Then, if you still want a business degree, you can apply for an MBA at a better-known business school.</p>

9

<p>I'm glad to hear no one has commented on the age factor- mine was also young when he started college, he also ended up at flagship U. The post directly above has some good advice- this is the age to be in school (don't drop out, there is plenty of time to work), but do change to a different major- find classes that interest you. It may be that your past business success has blinded you to many other possibilities. Use this stage in your life to become educated, pursuing a masters in some business field or otherwise doing it if you still want to. The hard part about being so successful early is in not having had the time to explore other fields. Make use of your school's counseling center- they can administer tests to help you discover interests and such. You may be surprised at the fields you test compatibility with. Not at all unusual for someone in your age group (late teens to early twenties) to question where they are heading- pursue the options and don't be discouraged.</p>

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<p>jessiehl's advice sounds very good to me. I think the undergraduate business major at many state universities is pretty shallow, to be frank. Maybe I'm tarring too many programs with a single brush, but I have a couple of nephews getting undergrad degrees in business from big publics and I'm disappointed in the breadth of their knowledge. At many schools, computer science is in the engineering school, and you don't want to wait too long before making a switch unless your math background is already good. On the other hand, I remember coming across a number of state schools that offered a version of computer science in the arts and sciences college along with a more technical cs major in engineering, so perhaps that is an option for you.</p>

<p>Don' t be too hard on your parents for popping in. They may not feel so obliged to surprise you if they think you are having a happy and productive time. I suspect they were concerned because you do not seem pleased with your position.</p>

11

<p>I second jessiehl's advice.</p>

<p>Study something other than business for your undergraduate degree. Then go back and get an MBA.</p>

<p>However, if you'd like to a BBA, you still have options open to you. If you can maintain a 3.5 GPA your first year, you have a decent shot at transfer to a better business school. You're best bet are publics which only consider post-secondary grades, not SAT/HS grades.</p>

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<p>Here's an alternative idea for you, although I have to be honest and admit that this is not the advice I would give if you were my son. Withdraw from school and run your business. See how it goes, and how it grows. If it is the love of your life, keep it going. If not, sell it in a few years and go back to school. Trust me, you will get more from school at 24 than you will at 18. Even if running your business is what you love, you can always earn an Executive MBA without earning a BA or BS first (at least at some schools).</p>

<p>If you were my son, I'd ask you to finish two years of college before deciding.</p>

13

<p>WashDad said exactly what I wanted to say, but I didn't have the courage to encourage you to quit college for fear your parents would find out who I am and come looking for me.</p>

<p>Give it a couple of years, but find an additional major, fast. There really is no reason to limit your field of study at this point if you are unhappy with it.</p>