I'm 17 and I'm not going to college. That's not me being edgy or trying to make a statement. I just don't think it makes sense for what I'm doing.
But apparently that's a controversial thing to say out loud.
The Counselor Workshop
This year we had this guidance counselor workshop. Everyone's supposed to get on Naviance, start selecting colleges, work on applications. The whole room is clicking around on their laptops picking schools. I opened my laptop and started working on IOC.
My counselor came over. "What are you doing?"
I told her I'm not going to college.
You would have thought I said something crazy. She got this serious look and said we needed to "have a conversation about it." Like I'd just told her I was dropping out or something. Not going to college apparently requires a formal meeting.
That moment kind of summed up the whole problem for me. The system doesn't treat college as a choice. It treats it as the plan. And if you opt out, something must be wrong with you.
The Money Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About
Here's the thing that actually bothers me. College costs a ridiculous amount of money. We all know this. And somehow the conversation is still "where are you going?" not "is this worth it?"
The average four-year degree costs around $120,000 at a public university and over $250,000 at a private one when you add up tuition, housing, food, and everything else — according to the Education Data Initiative. And that's before interest if you're borrowing. Let's say you take even just $100,000 of that and instead of handing it to a university, you put it in an S&P 500 index fund. The S&P has averaged around 10% annual returns historically. At that rate, $100,000 turns into about $260,000 in ten years. In twenty years, it's close to $675,000. By the time you're 60, that same money is worth over $4.5 million — just sitting there, compounding.
Meanwhile, the person who spent that $100,000 on a degree is starting at zero with debt. They're not just out the tuition — they're out everything that money could have grown into over a lifetime. That's the part nobody talks about in those counselor workshops.
I'm not saying money is the only factor. But when people act like college is obviously worth it, I don't think they've actually run the numbers.
What I'm Doing Instead
The one that really gets me is when people go to college for a business degree. That one I genuinely don't understand.
You're paying $100,000+ to learn about business from someone whose job is... teaching business. If they really knew how to build a company, wouldn't they be out building one? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but that's a real question.
Because there's a better way to learn this stuff. And I know because I'm doing it.
I've been to Funnel Hacking Live. I've been to Unleash the Power Within. I've learned from Russell Brunson, Brendon Burchard, Jamie Kern Lima — and I've actually met all of them. These are people who've built real businesses, real brands, from nothing. The stuff I've picked up at those events is worth more than any semester of Business 101.
I've read the DotCom Secrets series. Rich Dad Poor Dad. Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers and $100M Leads. These books cost like $15 each and taught me more about how business actually works than most college courses even cover.
And then there's my dad. He built a real estate business, watched it crash, and then co-founded The Tapping Solution. He's lived the whole cycle — building something, losing it, starting over, and building something bigger. That's who I learn from every day. Not theory from a textbook. Real experience from someone who's actually been through it.
I'm building a business right now. I'm learning by doing — which honestly teaches you faster than any classroom could. When you have actual money on the line and real people depending on you, you figure things out quick.
There's more free and cheap information available right now than at any point in history. The idea that you need to pay $50,000 a year to access knowledge is kind of outdated. I've spent time in rooms with people who've built eight and nine figure businesses. I'm 17. Most college students don't get that kind of access in four years.
So when someone tells me they're going to spend four years and six figures to get a business degree, I just think — why? You could learn more in six months from the right books, the right events, and the right people. And you'd still have the money.
And the window to build something while I'm young and have low expenses and high energy? That doesn't stay open forever. I'm not sitting around hoping this works out. I'm going to make sure it does.
College Works for Some People
I want to be clear about something — I'm not saying college is a scam or that nobody should go. That's not my point.
If you want to be a doctor, go to college. If you want to be an engineer, go to college. There are fields where you literally need the degree. No argument there.
And if you genuinely don't know what you want to do yet, college can be a decent place to figure that out. You take different classes, you meet people, you buy yourself some time. That's a legitimate reason to go.
What I have a problem with is the version where people go because they can't think of anything else to do. Or because their parents expect it. Or because everyone around them is going and it feels weird not to. Those are bad reasons to spend that much money.
What I'd Actually Tell You
If you're in high school and you're feeling the pressure to just go along with the college thing, here's what I'd say: slow down and actually think about it.
Ask yourself what you want to do. Not what sounds good, not what your parents want, not what your friends are doing. What do you actually want?
If the answer is something that requires a degree, go get the degree. Simple.
If the answer is something you could learn by doing, or by working with people who've done it, or by building something — then maybe college isn't the move. At least not right now.
The worst thing you can do is spend four years and six figures on something just because you didn't stop to think about whether you actually needed it. Especially when that six figures could be compounding in the market, working for you instead of against you.
I'm not telling anyone what to do. I'm just saying it should be a real decision, not autopilot.
