Many Dropouts, No New Billionaires

In my previous posts, I have really focused on what made Steve Jobs and Bill Gates so successful without graduating college. After rereading my blog and looking at all the comments, I have decided that I need more information about regular college dropouts and the success they have and compare it to Jobs and Gates. After some looking, I found an interesting journal article by Silla Brush entitled “College Dropouts Face Loan Hardships” in the Academic Search Premier database. The article claims that students who drop out of college after taking out loans to attend school are more likely to default on their loans. It then goes on to say that those who drop out of college are twice as likely to be unemployed as those who finish college. Following the reading, I can’t help but wonder why Jobs and Gates were so successful so quickly after quitting school, and how they dealt with any financial issues along the way.

After gathering this information, I came across an piece of writing by Travis Waldron on Think Progress called “Study: Nearly Half of America’s College Students Drop Out Before Receiving A Degree.” According to the article, the college completion rate in America is lower than other countries and only 56 percent of students who start college actually graduate within six years. This information makes me question the probability of dropping out of college to pursue an idea with the intent of becoming as successful as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. When I look at the big picture like this, it seems almost impossible to accomplish what Jobs and Gates did, and it is my opinion that they both had a great deal of circumstantial luck on their hands when they made the choice to leave college.