<p><br/></p><p>In researching this topic, I found a recent article that raises some excellent points about the college ROI (return on investment) for certain creative types, in light of the skyrocketing college costs of today. Donna Fenn <a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/entrepreneurs/is-college-a-waste-of-time-for-young-entrepreneurs/1973" target="_blank">writes in BNet</a>, "Last week, <a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/entry-level/is-college-the-next-bubble/4649" target="_blank">Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal</a> and an early investor in Facebook, announced that his foundation had just chosen its first class of “<a href="http://www.thielfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=19" target="_blank">20 Under 20 Thiel Fellows</a>." It's a group of wiz kids that will receive $100,000 each over two years to pursue their entrepreneurial ventures, all of which are in the science and technology fields. Sadly, only two of the awardees are young women, but that's another subject for another post. What has the media buzzing is Thiel's requirement that his fellows either forgo or drop out of college." There's more: </p><p>In a spirited Facebook debate, two of Fenn's friends made some interesting comments, including these:</p><p>"What we don't need in this country is more uneducated entrepreneurs with no sense of history, culture or values other than making money. I'm sorry, but business is about living. Life is not about business. Without education and a larger context than making money, how are we to make rational decisions that benefit society and the planet for generations to come rather than just what will benefit our shareholders for the next quarter?"</p><p>And this:</p><p>"Do many kids go to college to party and waste their precious opportunity? No doubt. Then shame on us as parents for failing to imbue our children with a love of learning, reading, and intellectual curiosity about who we are and where we are going as a species. Without that self-awareness, what's left is make money, buy stuff, throw stuff away, make more money, buy more stuff…"</p><p>For the rest of this highly interesting discussion see <a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/entrepreneurs/is-college-a-waste-of-time-for-young-entrepreneurs/1973" target="_blank">Fenn's article</a>.</p><p>What do <em>you</em> think?</p><p rel="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">**********</p><p style="text-align: left;">Be sure to check out all my admissions-related articles and book reviews at <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/" target="_blank">College Confidential</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less