I can assure you that the most successful people on this forum are dropouts.
I never tried it and honestly don't really think that Im ever going to try out college.
Um, I honestly don't think you can draw that conclusion, can you?
Firstly, if the kid is trying to figure out whether or not to go to school, this is not the place for unbiased opinions.
It's very dangerous to tell kids "school sucks and is a waste of time".
Do you need a formal education to succeed?
Absolutely not.
Does it help?
Of course it does. The right education will teach you how to find out what what your talents are and how to monetize those talents. If you are from a modest social background you will get access to a vast social network that is unavailable to you until you hit the 8 and probably 9 figure net worth range.
What makes me qualified to give this opinion? I am all about credibility....
Parents:
Both entrepreneurs with 30+ years of experience running multiple companies
Both the first to get advanced degrees in their family
Both worked at some point 3 jobs to put themselves through school....
Personally:
Started first biz at 10 (literally)
Public Company Experience
VC and Start Up Experience
2 Years in this Biz (literally went to WF university) and now employ multiple people on 3 continents
2 Advanced degrees from brand name schools
Volunteered at NFTE - National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Reason I am saying all this is that I firmly believe in the value of entreprenurial risk taking and education. And if you are wise you will try to get a balanced view.....
Your decision about education can be one of the most important in your life. On a personal level too if you go to a school ideal for you, it will be one of the most rewarding social experiences ever. I wouldn't trade in $500M for my experiences - the friendships, learning, etc.
If you go to some MBA forum they will tell you that maybe Affiliate Marketing is a waste of Time.
Here you will find ALOT of people saying school is a waste of time.
This is called "market segmentation".
If your goal is to be in a senior most position in a Fortune 500 company, consider that literally 30% of the top 3 officers at Fortune 500 companies (i.e. the CEO, CFO, CIO) went to Harvard Business School. This is a staggering statistic and speaks volumes....
However, a LARGE AMOUNT of very wealthy individuals in the Forbes list of billionaires are actually themselves college drop outs....
Ironically, if you talk to many of them A LARGE AMOUNT DONATE TO UNIVERSITIES and are VERY ADAMANT about their kids GOING TO SCHOOL - what does that tell you??
It all depends on what you want. If you want the flexibility of being able to decide between corporate America and entrepreneurship, get your degree.
It is a helluva lot easier to go from corporate America to starting a business than it is the other way around....