The Cost of Elite College

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/12/mark-zuckerberg-harvard-dropout

The New York Times Sunday Week in Review section has an article headlined, "Is Going to an Elite College Worth the Cost?"

Not mentioned are Harvard dropouts Bill Gates (Microsoft founder) and Time magazine person of the year Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder).

Maybe the answer to the Times question is, "Yes, so long as you don't stay too long."

You can look at the Gates-Zuckerberg experience at least two ways. One would be to say that the potential to become a multi-billionaire entrepreneur is somehow inversely proportional to the length of time you remain enrolled once admitted to Harvard. ("If I had only dropped out, I might have been more of a success...") The other is that there's a personal cost to being a multi-billionaire entrepreneur, the all-consuming nature of it that can include things such as having to truncate one's normal college experience.

At a certain point, both Mr. Gates and Mr. Zuckerberg decided that finishing wasn't worth the opportunity cost. Not everyone is a Gates or a Zuckerberg, so the answer to the Times's question may be that it depends on the individual. But given the costs and what is being taught, it's a question that is going to be asked more and more.

by Ira Stoll  |  Dec 19, 2010 at 12:34 am Related Topics:  Education receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list