I dropped out of my undergrad about halfway through and think I made some learnable mistakes in the process.
Originally I was studying law, on the grounds that:
My teachers and parents said Iâd make a good lawyer;
They similar pressured me to do a subject perceived as âhighly academicâ;
I was quite a good public speaker at school;
I thought it represented the best chance I had of getting in to Oxbridge.
None of these reasons are particularly good ones for choosing a degree, but nobody ever sat me down and gave me a better framing for of the problem, so I just went along with it. Point #4 was potentially true given that I did get an offer from Cambridge, and at one point my academic career seemed to be on a solid trajectoryâI would go to Cambridge, become a barrister afterwards, be financially secure and successful and ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately I suffered from various executive dysfunction and mental health issues both at school and uni but didnât legitimise them and therefor didnât devote the necessary resources to resolve them. This led to me declining my Cambridge offer as I knew there was no way I was going to get the required grades, and subsequently also led to me dropping out of Lancaster University about halfway through my second year, at which point I went from having a solid life plan to no plan whatsoever as well as some potent mental health struggles.
Fast forward a few years and Iâm a software engineer at a big tech company, which seems to be a significantly better fit for me than being a barrister. Itâs a great time to be a programmerâitâs well paid and relatively low stress, building things is rewarding, it suits me as someone who has a quantitative worldview combined with a decent chunk of social anxiety. Being in big tech also appears to give me a reasonably clear pathway towards career success, by building career capital I can later parlay into impact, founding a start up or similar.
In general itâs hard to evaluate the counterfactual of dropping out/âremaining at uni, however one of the posts Gavin linked mentioned shame around dropping out that strongly resonates with me. At various points in the last 6 years I have considered if I ought to try to find a way to get a degree, and often find myself thinking that had I actually acquired a degree from Cambridge, my career might be significantly more advanced than it is now. Itâs also worth noting that not having an undergrad can make it harder to immigrate, for example it is very difficult for me to get a H1-B visa for the US.
I also think Eli is completely correct that much of the value of university is in the people rather than the education. The sense of belonging I felt as part of a sports team at university was one Iâve been wholly unable to replicate since, despite various attempts to do so. I suspect the majority of the value of an Oxbridge or similar degree is in the networking opportunities, particularly in the long term.
Advice to my 17 year old self
Think about what you want out of your life, even if it seems hard to imagine a life outside of school. Talk to people you find interesting, ask them difficult questions, try to imagine if being in their shoes would make you happy. Your parents want you to make the most stable possible option, which might not be the best.
Take a year out to work on your mental health. Your career will be long, and a year spent wisely will more than pay for itself. Do anything you can to make those around you see that this is valuable. This is potentially also good advice for my 27 year old self.
The opportunity to go to university is likely once-in-a-lifetime, and thus you should make sure that you go to the right one and study the right subject. I think I wouldâve enjoyed, maths, economics and computer science significantly more than law.
Equally, it is not the be-all and end-all. If youâre smart, curious and hard-working then youâll land on your feet. You have a big safety net so you shouldnât be scared of falling.
Takeaways
I think at least trying to do an undergrad is worth it, for the people more than the education.
Degrees are pretty clearly more valuable to some people than others, and this depends on how credentialist your field is and whether you have traits that would be sufficient to overcome your lack of degree when looking for opportunities.
Most 17 year olds I know and have known do not seem well equipped to deal with big decisions like this.
My application
I dropped out of my undergrad about halfway through and think I made some learnable mistakes in the process.
Originally I was studying law, on the grounds that:
My teachers and parents said Iâd make a good lawyer;
They similar pressured me to do a subject perceived as âhighly academicâ;
I was quite a good public speaker at school;
I thought it represented the best chance I had of getting in to Oxbridge.
None of these reasons are particularly good ones for choosing a degree, but nobody ever sat me down and gave me a better framing for of the problem, so I just went along with it. Point #4 was potentially true given that I did get an offer from Cambridge, and at one point my academic career seemed to be on a solid trajectoryâI would go to Cambridge, become a barrister afterwards, be financially secure and successful and ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately I suffered from various executive dysfunction and mental health issues both at school and uni but didnât legitimise them and therefor didnât devote the necessary resources to resolve them. This led to me declining my Cambridge offer as I knew there was no way I was going to get the required grades, and subsequently also led to me dropping out of Lancaster University about halfway through my second year, at which point I went from having a solid life plan to no plan whatsoever as well as some potent mental health struggles.
Fast forward a few years and Iâm a software engineer at a big tech company, which seems to be a significantly better fit for me than being a barrister. Itâs a great time to be a programmerâitâs well paid and relatively low stress, building things is rewarding, it suits me as someone who has a quantitative worldview combined with a decent chunk of social anxiety. Being in big tech also appears to give me a reasonably clear pathway towards career success, by building career capital I can later parlay into impact, founding a start up or similar.
In general itâs hard to evaluate the counterfactual of dropping out/âremaining at uni, however one of the posts Gavin linked mentioned shame around dropping out that strongly resonates with me. At various points in the last 6 years I have considered if I ought to try to find a way to get a degree, and often find myself thinking that had I actually acquired a degree from Cambridge, my career might be significantly more advanced than it is now. Itâs also worth noting that not having an undergrad can make it harder to immigrate, for example it is very difficult for me to get a H1-B visa for the US.
I also think Eli is completely correct that much of the value of university is in the people rather than the education. The sense of belonging I felt as part of a sports team at university was one Iâve been wholly unable to replicate since, despite various attempts to do so. I suspect the majority of the value of an Oxbridge or similar degree is in the networking opportunities, particularly in the long term.
Advice to my 17 year old self
Think about what you want out of your life, even if it seems hard to imagine a life outside of school. Talk to people you find interesting, ask them difficult questions, try to imagine if being in their shoes would make you happy. Your parents want you to make the most stable possible option, which might not be the best.
Take a year out to work on your mental health. Your career will be long, and a year spent wisely will more than pay for itself. Do anything you can to make those around you see that this is valuable. This is potentially also good advice for my 27 year old self.
The opportunity to go to university is likely once-in-a-lifetime, and thus you should make sure that you go to the right one and study the right subject. I think I wouldâve enjoyed, maths, economics and computer science significantly more than law.
Equally, it is not the be-all and end-all. If youâre smart, curious and hard-working then youâll land on your feet. You have a big safety net so you shouldnât be scared of falling.
Takeaways
I think at least trying to do an undergrad is worth it, for the people more than the education.
Degrees are pretty clearly more valuable to some people than others, and this depends on how credentialist your field is and whether you have traits that would be sufficient to overcome your lack of degree when looking for opportunities.
Most 17 year olds I know and have known do not seem well equipped to deal with big decisions like this.