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I agree with almost all your points, especially on the idea that the best dropouts are the ones are the ones who would do well in school anyways. However, I am not sure that someone who can't follow a curriculum will translate into someone doing poorly when a curriculum is not given to them in the "real world". Some people thrive on not having rules to abide by. Curriculums, especially those created in the school system, are not a one size fits all, so you might occasionally get people who do really bad under them.

That's true. Sir Richard Branson probably didn't do well in school and probably wouldn't have had he continued that route.

Steve Jobs and Sean Parker don't actually seem like they'd do well in school. Their temperament and personality types run counter to how school is structured, while in companies people are more capable of getting away with a kind of free-wheeling style.

I'll speak for myself when I say I hate school. It's not about education, I wonder when it was. Not anymore for sure, more about that piece of paper at the end of it all that says "you can get a job now". It's about not having to do the work yourself and on your own initiate. It's about teaching you to be an employee.

I never saw the value in it. If one's considering going for it any time, even once in a college, my advice is GO. Even if you fail, at least you'll sleep a little better at night.

Educations' flaws are deep in the system itself. It comes from the Industrial mentality of worker lines and an Enlightenment paradigm of the mind, both of which at best are fallacious. Education can't be given. You're not extracting valuable skills by bullshitting that English paper.

Education is something you honestly have to desire and seek.

The best dropouts are those who would do well in school anyway

That's a great quote. Good to keep in mind. The more folks talk up the college dropout thing, the more concerned I become that people will come to see dropping out as a positive thing, even when you don't do it for the right reasons.

By the same token, a degree isn't going to help someone who wouldn't have done well in business anyway. There is nothing you can do to prepare yourself for success, so stop worrying and just do what feels right for you.

Certainly. Only, college is not an opportunity that comes knocking many times, so I would not have students casually discard it on a pop-fad of "dropout = success". Much better that they should have concrete personal conviction on the matter.

The kyey point in that blog post is in the final two sentences: "Dropping out isn’t an accomplishment, any more than money is a sign of achievement. Sometimes, but not always, it’s simply a symptom of success."

Dropping out of college doesn't mean that your startup will be successful, just as having an MBA doesn't guarantee success in business.

(FYI, I'm both a university drop-out AND an MBA.)

Completely agree! Especially with the fact that good dropouts would have done well in school anyway.

Larry Summers mentioned in some interview that although both Gates and Zuckerburg dropped out, they were already better educated than most people are after the average college education when they enrolled at Harvard (studying at Lakeside School and Phillips Exeter).

There is a huge difference between having an assignment you don't feel for and having to do something boring that has immediate purpose. I totally get that running your own company involves a lot of things that you probably never were interested in but, I imagine, that running an own company it's very easy (comparatively) to see the purpose of everything you do (and the consequences of not) and that can make the exact same task so much easier.

For some people that alone is the difference between a depression and a happy fulfilling life.

The same could be applied to school of course, you do this assignment so that you can pass the class and eventually earn a paper that says that you did something. But that is too abstract for many and the motivation required for that is completely different. The subject itself might be really interesting and you really would love to play around with it on your spare time but you don't feel you have time because you have a pointless assignment in your way. It's not that that situation is unique to studying but the motivation required can be completely different (why are you studying, to learn or to get a grade?). Saying that the best dropouts are those who would do well in school anyway really didn't sound right in my ears.

Other than that I agree with you and the article but I think you both fail to recognize that dropping out says something as well. If you drop out out of free will that says something about you and your values and that is not without value (depending on why you did it).

This is how I feel. What should I do?

Sorry, I have no clue. My gut feeling says that one should try to ride it out but I have no insight and it of course depends a lot on the situation and if there are any compelling alternatives.

A sabbatical, especially one with an uninspiring job, can do wonders for the motivation.