Should I go to College?

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

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?

online poll creator

Comments

6 responses to “Should I go to College?”

  1. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    Keep kicking ass Zach! Your blog is packed with value and is fun to read, you are certainly inspiring me and many of our other peers. Keep following your dreams and intuition, massive success for you is only a matter of time.

    1. Zach Shefska Avatar

      I appreciate the support Kevin. Thanks for taking the time to look around. I hope all is going well for you back at Pitt!

  2. Terence John Avatar
    Terence John

    I stumbled upon your website, Zach, and I thought it is very insightful and helpful especially to newbies. Love your reading list! Will keep checking back for more!

    1. Zach Shefska Avatar

      Thank you for taking the time to look around Terence, I’m glad you enjoyed the reading list. I’ll be updating weekly – please do check back!

  3. […] might remember that about a year ago I asked the internet what I should do — return to university or […]

  4. […] might remember that about a year ago I asked the internet what I should do — return to university or […]

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