At the end of this post there is a poll. It asks, “Should I go to college?” If you have a moment, please answer either yes or no. Thank you.
This August will be the first August that I am not going to school. At 20 years old I have never lived through a fall semester without going to mandatory classes of some sort.
I am an outlier. Nearly all of my peers are enrolled in either a two or four year university. Most everyone I know is ecstatic about returning to campus in the coming weeks.
Working full-time, commuting, and taking on more responsibility has made me feel older, wiser, and more experienced.
But, at what cost?
8 months have gone by since my decision to leave the University of Pittsburgh. I think now is a good time to reassess my situation and determine if I should plan a return back to school in the near future.
About me
I am going to tell you a little about myself and where I am currently at in my life. I am going to tell you where I want to go, where I want to be, and who I want to become. Please let me know if going to college would be beneficial on this journey.
Demographics
- I am 20 years old.
- I am a white man.
- I have completed some college with no degree.
- I am single.
- I am employed.
Academics
- I scored a 1900 on my Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
- I achieved a high school GPA of 3.6.
- I enrolled in 10 Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
- I was accepted to DePaul University, NorthEastern University, Drexel University, and the University of Pittsburgh. I did not get accepted to Villanova University.
- I attended the University of Pittsburgh and had a GPA of 3.1.
- I have 51 college credits.
Entrepreneurship
- I created my first “business” when I was 12.
- I founded a company at Pitt in 2013.
- I placed third in a University wide start-up competition in 2014.
- I have applied to AlphaLab, and most recently the YCombinator Fellowship.
Present
Currently I work at a start-up company outside of Washington, D.C. My business card says, “web developer” on it. I write a lot of code, I learn a lot of best practices, and I dabble in design.
The CEO has a passion for teaching others. He mentors me. I have had one on one conversations with him about start-up financing, how to hire the right people, and how to build process. He has a passion for educating, and I am always a welcome audience. I am learning a lot from him.
The lead web developer has taught me how to be a professional. He has helped me learn to “slow down”, be more organized, and think more.
I work in an open office. I learn a lot from everyone – account managers, sales people, everyone.
Future
I recently did an in depth goal setting session. I have outlined goals for the next three years of my life. Those goals align with who I want to be, where I want to be, and what I want to be doing in the future.
In the future I want to be in business. (In the present I want to be in business.) In the future I want to collaborate with others. I want to continue learning new things. I want to be fundamental in building something that is useful, effective, and provides value.
I know I am passionate for a lot of things. I want a shallow knowledge of a breadth of topics, with a deeper knowledge in only a few.
With this information in mind, should I go to college?