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$100k to drop out of a top university, for a gifted person who could make the most out of that environment, does not actually sound like a good deal. Does it co

$100k to drop out of a top university, for a gifted person who could make the most out of that environment, does not actually sound like a good deal. Does it come with additional funding down the line? Those same people would have no problem raising $1M+ in funding when they complete their 4 year degree and decide on building a startup, no?

dartos 3y ago
In tech, at least, that degree probably won’t even be something VCs consider. Not worth finishing it up if your goal is to fund a startup. The connection and notoriety from PTs program would be just as good or better.
quantified 3y ago
The gifted person can make the most out of any environment. If the impact that person desires is to build a valuable business, going to uni sort of dilutes their effort in many ways and sets them back a few years. Maybe that student had $100k+ in scholarship money? Maybe not.
- aleph_minus_one 3y ago
  > The gifted person can make the most out of any environment. This depends a lot on whether your talents cover a broad range of areas, or whether the they lie in very specific areas. In my experience the latter situation is far more common.
qaq 3y ago
Thats a very broad statement re: no problem raising $1M+ in funding when they complete their 4 year degree
alphabetting 3y ago
I was thinking about this last week around the news coverage of the kid who got rejected from 16 colleges and decided to go straight to working for google. Even without the $100k, I struggle to imagine many people finishing college and starting their careers will be better situated than he is 4 years from now. Definitely some edge cases and it ignores the loss of college memories which could be significant to some but I do think this will become more of a trend considering the recent trajectory of higher education.
cj 3y ago
The program was launched a long time ago. At the time, $100k was a lot of money. A know more than a few people that were part of the program and most of them liked it. Although half of the thiel fellows I knew ended with businesses that didn't pan out and they went back to school (most got into ivy leagues)
- fkyoureadthedoc 3y ago
  According to the inflation calculator[1] I consulted, and the fact that the program had its first round of applicants in May 2011[2], their $100,000 would be about $135.6k now. 1. https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=100%2C000.00&year1=201109&year2=202309 https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=100%2C000.00&y... 2. https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/young-entrepreneurs-rule-meet-peter-thiels-first-20-under-20-thiel-fellows/ https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/young-entrepreneurs-rule-m...
lr4444lr 3y ago
Not that it literally pays the rent, but I think having a TF on your resumé is probably at least as good in a competitive job market as a top tier college diploma.

dartos 3y ago

In tech, at least, that degree probably won’t even be something VCs consider. Not worth finishing it up if your goal is to fund a startup. The connection and notoriety from PTs program would be just as good or better.

quantified 3y ago

The gifted person can make the most out of any environment. If the impact that person desires is to build a valuable business, going to uni sort of dilutes their effort in many ways and sets them back a few years. Maybe that student had $100k+ in scholarship money? Maybe not.

aleph_minus_one 3y ago
> The gifted person can make the most out of any environment. This depends a lot on whether your talents cover a broad range of areas, or whether the they lie in very specific areas. In my experience the latter situation is far more common.

qaq 3y ago

Thats a very broad statement re: no problem raising $1M+ in funding when they complete their 4 year degree

alphabetting 3y ago

I was thinking about this last week around the news coverage of the kid who got rejected from 16 colleges and decided to go straight to working for google. Even without the $100k, I struggle to imagine many people finishing college and starting their careers will be better situated than he is 4 years from now. Definitely some edge cases and it ignores the loss of college memories which could be significant to some but I do think this will become more of a trend considering the recent trajectory of higher education.

cj 3y ago

The program was launched a long time ago. At the time, $100k was a lot of money. A know more than a few people that were part of the program and most of them liked it. Although half of the thiel fellows I knew ended with businesses that didn't pan out and they went back to school (most got into ivy leagues)

fkyoureadthedoc 3y ago
According to the inflation calculator[1] I consulted, and the fact that the program had its first round of applicants in May 2011[2], their $100,000 would be about $135.6k now. 1. https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=100%2C000.00&year1=201109&year2=202309 https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=100%2C000.00&y... 2. https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/young-entrepreneurs-rule-meet-peter-thiels-first-20-under-20-thiel-fellows/ https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/young-entrepreneurs-rule-m...

lr4444lr 3y ago

Not that it literally pays the rent, but I think having a TF on your resumé is probably at least as good in a competitive job market as a top tier college diploma.