Aspiring to become successful and visionary entrepreneurs is a common goal among younger generations influenced by public figures like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. With the growing disillusionment towards college education, entrepreneurship seems a viable option for ambitious and highly-motivated individuals.
Many argue that college lost its power to provide value to a large proportion of young people. Some of them feel that it’s a waste of time and energy to jump through all sorts of irrelevant academic hoops and would prefer to focus on a business instead. However, going to college does not have to be an obstacle to entrepreneurial success.
Choosing the right institution that supports innovation and independent thinking can take you closer to your goal. Let’s explore how.
Prestigious Colleges Bring Bright Individuals Together.
Prestigious colleges and universities are highly competitive and bring together only the most driven, accomplished and motivated students from the U.S. and the world. Just looking at an alumni list of an elite Ivy League college like Yale one can find several American presidents, politicians, journalists and other public figures.
If you have the credentials to get admitted to Yale, it’s safe to assume that you will be surrounded by bright people with various intriguing interests from whom you can learn a lot. The networking opportunities present in a college setting are unmatched, and it is not far-fetched to say that developing good relationships with people can bring unforeseen business opportunities in terms of collaboration, ideas or resources, now or in the future.
Networking does not stop at your fellow students. Many top colleges and universities regularly invite business executives and successful entrepreneurs to deliver lectures, make presentations and connect with students. This means getting business insights from people that you might read about in a business magazine.
The Right College Helps You Build A Foundation of Knowledge.
Knowledge is power. This is and has always been the main guiding principle of all academic institutions. In a fast-paced and always-evolving business world, some people can adapt because they have a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them on which they rely to find innovative solutions and move forward.
Attending college gives you the chance to build a solid foundation of knowledge and skills that you can apply in your future business. If you go to a top school, you can attend business-specific courses like accounting or management taught by experts in the field. Thus, you will have an edge over other business owners whose knowledge is less systematic.
You can also gain in-depth knowledge in a field unrelated to business and later develop a niche company in that specific field. Maybe you want to open a digital marketing agency one day so a creative writing course from a top school can be immensely useful. Maybe a biochemistry course will inspire you to develop a new commercial product.
The high cost of tuition and the huge investment of time and energy make college unappealing to many students. If you believe that entrepreneurship is your call, it’s normal to feel extra doubtful about going to college. In the long-term, however, the pros highly outweigh the cons. If you want to go beyond a small local company into the vast world of global business, a college degree can be an effective shortcut.
