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Ask HN: High school spent working and building startups, college?
I'm a senior in high school looking at colleges for next year. I'm started programming at 7 and have been working professionally since 13 for major companies(Google, Microsoft, Mozilla) and universities(Harvard, Stanford), working remotely for obvious reasons. I've also created a few web businesses, one of which has gotten about 100 million views. However, I've let my grades slack, and I'm coming out of highschool with a 3.1 GPA(2000 SAT - all 3 subjects similar in score).
I've interviewed at a few schools, and although the professors seemed really impressed, their input really didn't influence admissions much. I would rather not go to college than go somewhere bad, so I'm asking you HN, what are some good CS colleges that care a great deal about interviews and can make exceptions for unique cases?
- martinshen 16y agoWhy bother with CS at this point especially if you're primarily web focused? Maybe look at heading to a school of like-minded individuals. I'm part of a student entrepreneurship community at Babson College and it rocks. I think the best education comes from also actively pursuing a business in college. Ask me anything about Babson at martincshen at gmail
- acsstudent 16y agoThanks! You're actually the second person that has tried to talk to me about Babson. I've considered the idea, but I feel like I'd always want to do CS while I was there. I'll definitely think more about it though.
- martinshen 16y agoIf you seriously have any questions about Babo... email me. It has its serious downs and a few ups. Business wise.. all the professors have actual business experience. Most teach because they want to not because they need to. (aka. worth over 10mm, one over 800mm)
- phamilton 16y agoI like how Paul Graham describes "the money problem". It sounds like you've got the money problem solved. Take a step back now, and think about things you would really like to do.
- AndyParkinson 16y agoI started doing web development as a consultant at 16. I didn't care much about going straight to a university while I was at High School and I had about a 3.0. I never bothered taking the SATs. I went to community college just to see if I could get into the UCLA CS program after 2 years. I did, and then I dropped out after a semester to shift my consulting business to product development. This was about 8 years ago and it was the best decision I've ever made. The main turning point for me was a) I realized anything I actually used in my business I learned on my own, and b) I never want to think I can "just get a real job" if what I'm doing doesn't work out. Incidentally, my lack of a degree has never gotten in the way of an opportunity. One argument for going to school is you get access to people you might not get access to otherwise. I say if you know what you want, and who can help you get there, you'll find a way to get access to the people you need. Especially if you're young. Being young is a huge advantage when looking for help if you can shut up and be humble when asking for it. That said, I think having a business degree might have been useful. The problem there is that smart people can figure out the nuts and bolts of business as challenges of running a business present themselves. The nuts and bolts of managing/leading/inspiring others is another story. Sadly they don't seem to teach that in business school. Even if they did, it wouldn't make it much easier. You have to just do it for a while and stay committed to learning it while you go through hell for the first couple years. It's really a personal decision. Personally, if I could do it all over again I wouldn't waste the 3 years that I did. Instead I'd get a few roommates who attend some school and a campus apartment so I can have the "social experience" while I work on my own stuff during the day.