Be A University Dropout
Entrepreneurship
I went to Oxford. A world-class university — and it was even more of an accomplishment at the time because I went to a state school in an inner-city London borough that was ranked bottom of its league tables.
I went to Oxford. A world-class university — and it was even more of an accomplishment at the time because I went to a state school in an inner-city London borough that was ranked bottom of its league tables.
I had good teachers who cared, but there were too many other social and economic problems they couldn't compensate for. I was one of three in my year to go to Oxbridge, compared to the mass cohorts from private fee-paying schools that are tutored, groomed and prepared specifically for these universities. My teachers helped the best they could — mock interviews, some guidance — but we didn't have the knowledge or insight to really prepare properly.
Still, I got in. I passed the entrance exam, the interview with three Dons, and met the grades for my conditional offer.
And yet — I say this with love for my university — it made no difference to my life.
Because the connections that help are made at school. Going to a world-class university isn't going to change things if you can't join the extracurriculars, if you don't have the access afterwards to get the recommendation for the job, or stay in touch with the right people — because you weren't in the club with the rich kids. University gives you an education. But if you're looking for it to change your life, honestly, it won't.
The social hierarchy persists at university, and long after it. Three years don't change your trajectory — your trajectory is determined by the 18 years before, and by the moment you go back to wherever you came from and reassimilate.
Nowadays, when kids pay massive tuition fees, lose the experience and earnings of working while they study, and then spend even more on masters and PhDs all in the hope of a job — it seems more and more like a waste.
My advice, from younger me: be a university dropout. You'll be in good company — plenty of entrepreneurs who ended up making millions did exactly that, young.