Answer: As the data below shows, most successful people are NOT college dropouts.

Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg. I imagine you’ve heard just a few students over the years come in and question the value of going to college by noting that these great tech innovators left their college before graduating (Reed College, Harvard and Harvard respectively). Well, now you have some data to counteract this myth of the successful college dropout (hat tip to CB Insights who included this chart in their newsletter):

Oh and just to add insult to injury, if you have student loans and drop-out of college, you are about 4X more likely to default on your student loans.

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Want to pivot the discussion away from successful college dropouts to the entrepreneurial way? Check out the NGPF lesson on Entrepreneurship. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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