Editorial: Even for innovators, it’s ideal to finish college

Whereas a college education has long been perceived as the fast track to success, some are…Whereas a college education has long been perceived as the fast track to success, some are rethinking that model.

The New York Times recently reported about the Thiel Fellowships, monetary awards funded by billionaire Peter Thiel, one of the founders of PayPal. The $100,000 fellowships are given to remarkable students under the age of 20 who want to pursue big, innovative ideas — on the condition that they leave college and focus on developing their idea full-time for two years. The original 20 recipients of the fellowships are in their second year of the program, and 20 more were selected this past summer. Their projects vary from building and testing a low-cost solar panel to designing a no-cost competitor to Photoshop.

It’s true that several highly successful entrepreneurs — Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, to name two — didn’t find college very rewarding. And the American higher-education system does deserve criticism for its extremely high cost of attendance without a guarantee of success afterward, along with a culture that, at least on the undergraduate level, sometimes seems to value grades over scholarship.

However, selecting promising students to drop out of college and pursue their ideas is clearly not a model of innovation that can be applied widely. According to The New York Times, applications for the program came in from 42 different countries, and it’s harder to secure a Thiel Fellowship than to get into Princeton.

Although it might seem tempting to leave college to pursue your innovative ideas when finals week rolls around, for the vast majority of people, a traditional education is still worth it. Most students are not destined to be the next Bill Gates and can more than likely benefit from the knowledge, skills and connections that a traditional college degree offers.

Even for those who have very innovative ideas, a college education is still valuable. Although learning about humanities, liberal arts or philosophy might not put students on the fast track to start-up success before their 21st birthdays, studying these topics gives students a wide knowledge base and the skills to think critically and conduct research. For the majority of students, the skills gained from a college education should enhance and develop innovative ideas.

We think colleges should more strongly emphasize entrepreneurial skills to help students focus on innovation without taking the drastic step of dropping out of college. Pitt’s business school has a center called the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, which offers courses and programs that aim to teach innovation and entrepreneurship, and it also offers a graduate certificate in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

It could be beneficial for undergraduate students to complete this type of certificate. Doing so would allow them to gain some of the same benefits that the Thiel Fellows receive — for example, motivation to focus on hands-on projects — without requiring students to invest all of their efforts on a single idea and leave college before the age of 20.