Tonight, 60 Minutes featured a story I reported on a year ago: Peter Thiel, a billionaire venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook, has become a major critic of traditional higher education. He started a contest for budding entrepreneurs called 20 under 20. If you’re finishing high school, or you’ve done some college, but are still less than 20 years old, and you have a great idea for a technological innovation that could benefit society in a major way, you can apply for a chance to win $100,000 to drop out of college and pursue your innovation. Twenty winners are selected each year.
I don’t agree with all of Mr. Thiel’s commentary, but his Fellowship–for the brightest of the brightest–could identify the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg out there.
Regarding the larger debate on the value of college:
1. Preparing your teen to thrive at college. [Preparation increases the rate of success.]
2. Why I wrote Thriving at College
3. Why Thriving at College is about 360 pages (though the font size is large and the format is friendly.
4. Yes, college has become very expensive, so care should be taken regarding student loans.
5. Why You Should Still Go to College
6. Does federal financial aid increase or decrease higher ed costs?
7. 1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed [A current phenomenon of new graduates, due to the protracted economic malaise. Overall, unemployment is much higher for those without college degrees]