Do you know anyone who failed out of or didn't attend college? How are they doing now?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:You realize that well over half of Americans do not possess a bachelor’s degree, right?

OP. I know. I also don't personally know many people who fall in that category, so was just curious.

I don't think most people I know are aware that I haven't finished college. A lot of of people just assume I did.

Believe me, if they finished college, they know you did not. There are little tell-tale signs that reveal someone does not have a degree.

Not!

Plus 100.

My DH! Flunked out of two colleges. First was small liberal arts college. Parents made him come home and go to community college. Did well enough to go to state flagship where he lasted one semester. He was lucky enough to have a work/study job (because his parents couldn't even afford state school) at the university where his boss loved him and got him an internship on the Hill. He moved to DC and never looked back. He has been in politics his whole life. Hill and administrations with some campaigns. Then he became a talking head for a bit then went in house for a strat comms firm where he is a partner. You would never know and he makes a lot of money. A whole hell of a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s important to note things were easier for gen X and boomers without degrees.

The handful of gen Y and Zs we know who dropped or failed out of college are to put it frankly, terminally unmotivated losers. A bachelor’s degree has never been easier. It says a LOT if you can’t get through one these days. Spare me all the exaggerated illness and financial issue excuses. I’m talking about normal healthy kids.

My parents didn't go to college and are doing well enough, though that really only turned in their forties. They are both incredibly hard workers and often worked multiple jobs or side hustles. One does insurance work for a major hospital, the other does facilities management at a community college. They are a few years away from retirement so I hope their jobs hold on until then.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a few.

One didn't like college lied on his resume. i guess no one has checked. He's about 55 years old, seems to do just fine in iT, but I am surprised has not been caught lying.

Another male 58 years old failed out of college also lied, got caught in resume lie a few times. Finally went back to state college to get his degree.

I mention uni on my resume, but if anyone presses me I tell them I didn't finish.

If you do not state a degree attained, they will know from your resume. No one needs to put pressure on you to tell. I always find it interesting when people think others cannot figure out they do not have a college degree. There are clues. And, most employers, who require a degree, will conduct a verification.

Usually this is true with federal and state jobs, but less true in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Spare me all the exaggerated excuses. It's painfully easy to earn a bachelor's and I know some total dumbbells who have recently graduated from both private and state colleges. Unless a kid quits to pursue a real passion with a real plan, it is a major character red flag and likely signals lifelong challenges.

24-Year-Old Student Who Collected Garbage to Pay for College Is Admitted to Harvard Law School
"It was the people that were on the bottom of the hierarchy who really lifted me up," Rehan Staton said
https://people.com/human-interest/24-year-old-student-collected-garbage-admitted-to-harvard-law-school/

Single mom of 5 overcomes tragedy, graduates from law school at 33 after earning GED and bachelor's degree
https://www.today.com/parents/single-texas-mom-5-graduates-law-school-age-33-t127331

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You realize that well over half of Americans do not possess a bachelor’s degree, right?

OP. I know. I also don't personally know many people who fall in that category, so was just curious.

I don't think most people I know are aware that I haven't finished college. A lot of of people just assume I did.

Believe me, if they finished college, they know you did not. There are little tell-tale signs that reveal someone does not have a degree.

Not!

I can always tell when someone does not have a degree. It is so easy. Like they say, "Fake it 'til you make it." Or not...

People frequently ask where I went to college. I dropped out of a top 20 school. I guess these people who assume I went to college aren't as good at feeling out us loser basement dwellers as you are.

[Anonymous]

My sister quit after one year of college and instead got a professional degree, and her husband never even started a 4 year college instead opting for CC but never finishing his degree.

I have no idea what their bank account looks like or what their salaries are (or were, in my sister's case, as she was recently laid off due to COVID). But they have a nice house in a good neighborhood, and are raising three kids who participate in various activities, with the oldest a rising college sophomore. In other words, their life doesn't look significantly different than mine and my husband and I both have advanced degrees (MS plus several professional certifications for DH, PhD for me).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spare me all the exaggerated excuses. It's painfully easy to earn a bachelor's and I know some total dumbbells who have recently graduated from both private and state colleges. Unless a kid quits to pursue a real passion with a real plan, it is a major character red flag and likely signals lifelong challenges.

24-Year-Old Student Who Collected Garbage to Pay for College Is Admitted to Harvard Law School
"It was the people that were on the bottom of the hierarchy who really lifted me up," Rehan Staton said
https://people.com/human-interest/24-year-old-student-collected-garbage-admitted-to-harvard-law-school/

Single mom of 5 overcomes tragedy, graduates from law school at 33 after earning GED and bachelor's degree
https://www.today.com/parents/single-texas-mom-5-graduates-law-school-age-33-t127331

Wow. These are some really inspiring stories. Thanks for sharing, PP.

[Anonymous]

I quit after 2 years to start a business. Sold it for over $100M when I was 38.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Dude failed out because he got addicted to Party Poker (early 2000s when poker on TV was the rage). He made almost a million in winnings. Last I heard, he invested in Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft with some of the winnings. I doubt he's hurting now and is probably retired by mid-30s on several million dollars. I think he opened up a hedge fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Dude failed out because he got addicted to Party Poker (early 2000s when poker on TV was the rage). He made almost a million in winnings. Last I heard, he invested in Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft with some of the winnings. I doubt he's hurting now and is probably retired by mid-30s on several million dollars. I think he opened up a hedge fund.

Should also mention that he invested in those companies in the mid-2000s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I failed out of a two year college. It was like I left high school, and then it was as if there were 10 years of learning I didn't get and THEN my college. I was completely lost. I remember in my biology class there were lectures and labs, and I went to the lab and all these kids from my lecture were scarring around and I thought "How do they know what to do?" and I was so completely overwhelmed and embarrassed that I didn't even know how to say to my teacher "I don't know how to begin." She might as well have been talking in Japanese - that's how NOTHING I understood.

I remember walking up the library stairs thinking "Don't cry yet, don't cry yet, shit you share a room you can't cry there where can I cry, where the hell do I go to cry?" and I literally walked into the woods to have privacy to cry. Every class felt like that. In my English class I would attempt to write the essays we'd get assigned and the teacher would tell me I missed the subject it was supposed to be about. So I'd scrap it and try again and that would be wrong too. I'd go to office hours and write down what she said to do, think I did that, and still get it wrong.

I was not someone who partied. I have never been drunk or high in my life. Just totally lost. By the second day of classes I thought "I think this is going to be a problem." By two weeks in I knew I was going to fail out.

Went home, took a year off, worked, then went to the local community college never taking more than three classes at once (and that was 1.5 too many). My parents literally went through the course catalog and picked the major for me that they thought would be easiest for me to get through that would get me a job I could support myself on. There was no talk of "what do you WANT to be when you grow up?" but it was "What CAN you muddle your way through?"

It took me five years to get an associates degree going part time. I got D's in several classes, and they waived some requirements for me. Before I graduated I had a job as a legal secretary. I am much better at working than learning. But for years I would have to walk out of my office to stand outside and cry hysterically because I didn't know how to do what I'd been told to do. I got fired a lot. I cried before, during and after office trainings for new programs.

23 years after starting work in this field I probably only cry two or three times a year. But I support myself. I have no debt. And a lot of people are shocked that I don't have a bachelor's degree because I come across as smart, competent and confident.

Have you ever been tested for learning disabilities or ADHD? Your story is very common among people with those diagnoses.

Yes, I got tested when I was 19, and was diagnosed with about a dozen, very severe learning disabilities. They explain a LOT.

[Anonymous]

None of this matters. The data is bleak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spare me all the exaggerated excuses. It's painfully easy to earn a bachelor's and I know some total dumbbells who have recently graduated from both private and state colleges. Unless a kid quits to pursue a real passion with a real plan, it is a major character red flag and likely signals lifelong challenges.

24-Year-Old Student Who Collected Garbage to Pay for College Is Admitted to Harvard Law School
"It was the people that were on the bottom of the hierarchy who really lifted me up," Rehan Staton said
https://people.com/human-interest/24-year-old-student-collected-garbage-admitted-to-harvard-law-school/

Single mom of 5 overcomes tragedy, graduates from law school at 33 after earning GED and bachelor's degree
https://www.today.com/parents/single-texas-mom-5-graduates-law-school-age-33-t127331

It is easy to earn a college degree, but some kids choose to go into trades/pursue a career path that doesn't require a college degree, whether or not it's their "real passion." I don't think it's "a major character red flag."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I quit after 2 years to start a business. Sold it for over $100M when I was 38.

Wow! Which field, if you don't mind me asking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spare me all the exaggerated excuses. It's painfully easy to earn a bachelor's and I know some total dumbbells who have recently graduated from both private and state colleges. Unless a kid quits to pursue a real passion with a real plan, it is a major character red flag and likely signals lifelong challenges.

24-Year-Old Student Who Collected Garbage to Pay for College Is Admitted to Harvard Law School
"It was the people that were on the bottom of the hierarchy who really lifted me up," Rehan Staton said
https://people.com/human-interest/24-year-old-student-collected-garbage-admitted-to-harvard-law-school/

Single mom of 5 overcomes tragedy, graduates from law school at 33 after earning GED and bachelor's degree
https://www.today.com/parents/single-texas-mom-5-graduates-law-school-age-33-t127331

You act like it’s a moral accomplishment to finish college though.