Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about the value of college.
Obviously, it’s something that has been debated forever, perhaps ever since the first universities were established. At first, the answer was kind of obvious. A university is a beacon of knowledge — it’s an organized institution designed for acquiring knowledge. That’s what most people went to university for.
Then, a different reason appeared: to get a job. Because many jobs started requiring a university degree, one would go to university to gain knowledge, of course, but also to gain a credential which would help them secure formal employment. It came to a point that in some communities, having a single four-year university degree is not enough anymore; you need to have gone to graduate school as well.
The Peak of Abundant Intelligence
But then, things changed.
Information and knowledge became abundant. You can get top-tier lectures and the latest science and knowledge from the internet, and you don’t necessarily have to go to university for that. In fact, the resources available to you come from the best institutions in the world. For most colleges, the fact that they provide knowledge is no longer something they can pride themselves on.
With AI, we have probably reached somewhat of a peak where not only information, but intelligence is abundant in general. You simply don’t go to college for information anymore.
Similarly, more and more jobs, especially modern ones, have started to care less about which university you went to and more about what you can actually do. What can you do with your skills? What skills do you possess? What kind of experience do you have? So, your degree matters less now than it already did.
If you can get hired without the knowledge of the university and without the degree it provides, what’s the use of it?
The Signaling Device
Two great answers emerge, and they reinforce each other.
University is there as a signaling device and a network, probably more of the first than the second. What’s fascinating is that getting into a university is much harder than graduating from it. Almost everybody graduates, but getting in is still the hardest part about being in college. Therefore, getting into a more selective and prestigious school will give you a higher signal and higher leverage.
Even if you drop out, and you are encouraged to do so if you have something that you want to work on, just the fact that you are a Harvard or Stanford dropout puts you above the current students.
Why? Because you got into the same school, but decided you have better things to do than spend four years in college. Dropping out from an ordinary school and dropping out from Stanford have disproportionately different weights. Dropping out of Stanford is what is called, in Twitter terms, “high-signal,” and it probably opens more doors than staying at Stanford.
My Case in Defense of College
So what’s the conclusion? Is the conclusion to get into the most selective and prestigious school you can go to and drop out? Perhaps, but here I would like to make my case in defense of college.
Sure, college is probably not the best use of your time right now because the world is accelerating at an incomprehensible and never-before-seen pace. You are probably better off starting your own thing or joining the industry right now before cognitive functions and knowledge work get largely automated. Getting the credential of a dropout and leaving the university shortly after might just be the best play.
But the case I want to make is not a typical networking tip.
College is a great networking opportunity, sure, but what comes together with the competition is the kind of people you are surrounded by and the kind of friendships you can make.
I genuinely believe that at the end of the day, life is about people, and the more good people you surround yourself with, the better your opportunities get. The reason you go to college is not to go to class, learn knowledge, or attend lectures. It’s not about going to career fairs or just the act of being enrolled.
If you are capable and brilliant, no matter how many networking events and career fairs and lectures happen, you can get ahead in life anyway. The good play is probably getting into the best college you can because that will give you the chance to meet people you would otherwise never meet.
Focus on building good relationships with people, making friends, and, more importantly, making memories. And if there is a startup or an opportunity worth dropping out for, don’t contemplate too much and just do it.