Drop Out And Get Schooled: The Case for Thinking Twice About College

by Patrick Bet-David, Thomas Ellsworth

Education is broken and most graduates are broke.


The purpose of this book is to start an important dialogue about college education. I will make the case for why I believe 70% of college students should drop out. The concept of giving our trust to the educational system without accountability has not worked. I believe it’s time to ask serious


- Why do we go to college in the first place?


- Who should go to college and who shouldn’t?


- Can I succeed and do great things without college?


- Why do tuition and textbooks cost as much as they do?


- Have colleges simply become a big business (with tax-free status)?


- Are the subjects taught in college sufficient for life or do we need an upgrade?


Let me clarify something, this is NOT a book that declares that higher education is a terrible thing. Many professions require it, but I believe education can and does take place in many forms. As a college dropout and an autodidact, I’ve read over 1,200 books in the last 15 years and believe there are many paths we can take to get educated and do great things.


Fair You may have passionate feelings about the points in this book. Regardless of how strong you feel one way or another, my desired outcome is to start a broad dialogue so we can process the issues – together.


Ready?


Written by Patrick Bet-David with Thomas Ellsworth

Genres: Business, Self Help, Education, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Society, Entrepreneurship

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kinho Chan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very much wanted to like this book. I agree with the overall premise that not everyone should go to college and even agree with some of the claims made by the authors about who should and shouldn't go to college. Where this book falls short is providing well reasoned supporting arguments to those claims. The author wrote in a conversational tone and dropped off-the-cuff comments about liberal arts being a waste of time and made claims about specific occupations that don't need college degrees without explanation or elaboration. It works if the readers are already in agreement, but fails to enlighten for those who are genuinely considering all sides of the issue.

[Green Ranger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick Bet-David authored a great book. It's a must read book for all the dropouts who are doubting thy self for not pursing a college degree. It's just not provides you motivation but the reason to read it is to guide oneself pre and post dropout.

[Omar El-Mohri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book with a great case not against colleges but against what's wrong with them. As usual Patrick and Tom are full of great insights

[Amjad Azimane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand the perspective of the author, thinking in the individual benefits of students in america trying to achieve the most. However I miss macro-societal reasons, like what happens if an entire society "drops out"? What are the societal implications?

It is a fast quick read, however sometimes it feels very cheesy. With asking the reader to add the author on snapchat, to fill in a buzzfeed-like quiz on a website which does not exist anymore, dropping links within the book, and quoting Shia LaBeouf. The book definitely made me think about the subject, but I think the book only went over the surface. Trying to tell everyone to go into sales.

[Sander Brust · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its okay but not worth Reading its more a life story but he did went to school really funny 😅

[John Caruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a second semester senior, having this book before entering college would have helped me think more clearly about if I should attend college given my specific attributes. This book talks about why STEM oriented majors should be the ones who NEED a degree, how one's drive is not necessarily a motivating reason to attend university, and how there are many different avenues to still become successful without a degree. Those include going to the military first, then using the GI bill to pay for college, attending a small community college for very little money as one hones in on their passion, or simply taking the direct actionable steps to starting their first business. All high school seniors should read this book before deciding on attending college

[Shabeeb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I strongly recommend this book for the school/ college dropouts, this book will be a life-changing for them. I finished my Masters couple of months before, after reading this book i started questioning my self is that all the money and time is worth. i don't know.

some of the plan that the author recommend before dropping school or college.
1. Have a source of support or a plan to generate an adequate source of income
2. Learn sales
3. Learn self discipline
4. Work under CEO for free
5. Start a business lounge an entrepreneur effort.

[Revtor Chideru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should you get a college education, or not? That's the question this book tackles. It is an assessment of who needs to go to college, who doesn't, and why.

Worth noting though, that it is biased toward not going for a college degree, at least not straight after highschool. The majority of us are biased toward the opposite end of the spectrum, and the book's contrasting point of view brings with it some interesting insight from the other end of things.

For those pondering the college or no college question, this is an interesting voice in the debate.

[Jake Sainsbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I agree with the premise, Patrick makes some interesting points about the current university system. I enjoyed his idea of shortening the course down to a more condensed 2 year course.

Ultimately the book was a bit thin, he could have delved more deeply into the financial arguments against college using statistics. Seems like there is a gap in the market for a more researched version of this book.

A fun read you can get through in an afternoon, if you enjoy Patricks content you will enjoy this.

[Oleksandr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drop out

Very quick read. Patrick give us great insight of the education system we have not only in USA but everywhere. Ive watching his videos on YouTube and I have to say he has great content which I applied in my workplace and personal life and it worked. I too a big reader on personal development and business books and I would advise everyone to start reading as it will change your way of thinking. Great book Patrick and thank you for advice on how to start.

[Enes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uhmmm.... Te kort boek naar mijn mening. Ik vind over het algemeen de schrijfstijl goed en de manier hoe de inhoud wordt gegeven voldoende behalve in de hoofdstuk van "the business of college." Ook vond ik dat zijn eigen verhaal ook op een slechte manier werd verteld. Een mooi voorbeeld van hoe het uitgelegd mag worden is het boek" made in america."

Verder vond ik in dit boek dat hij inhoud geeft waar hij niet verder op in gaat.

[Flavia B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading it even if you’re still in university

The book is focused on the US education system, however, the advice given in the book can apply to any teenager from other countries too. I have read this book in my firs year of university and despite the fact that I do not intent to drop out of college, the insights given in this book are valuable and applicable.

[Pía López Copetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one book I wish I'd have read back in 2009 before enrolling University. It explains the reality of college education and how little value some of the mandatory subjects you take (say fillers in artistic-liberal topics) give you so little in contrast to what's needed to actually land a well-paid job.

[Lokesh Khasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this books is really insight full for peoples who just graduated their high school like me ....very insightful information is given by Patrick but not according to Indian Education system but he gives a different perspective to think about education.
Brilliant book

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice points. If you don't plan for STEM, you may want to question whether you truly need to attend college (considering the huge tuition prices, debt for years maybe). You could get educated alone
More on that in the book. It's a quick read, worth checking out

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay book. Easy to read. It has a simple message: think twice about going to college. It has a very specific target audience though (which I wasn't a part of). Would recommend it to an American high school student and their parents, but not to other people.

[Ben Azadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on opening up a dialogue to discuss our current school system, which is flawed in many ways.

[Vinay Babla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful nuggets

PBD presents his case well, considering arguments for and against dropping out of college. He backs them up with strong evidence too.

[Ahmad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is like common sense to me if you're in your early 20 then it might be helpful for you but if you're in high school it's not that helpful

[TTR Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I really needed to read it in my 18s

[Maximillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are great points just not written very well.

Basically know what you want to do if you drop out.

[Brey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick read. Thought-provoking. I admire Patrick's courageous insight for the hard-hitting truths of the education system not only in USA but everywhere. Highly recommended.

[Lennox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stating the obvious

[Sorosch Naderi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book, makes the case for why one should drop out of college. More people should read this book instead of listening to unqualified ignorant people.

[Tony Moze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a ground breaking book! Call that a disruption to the academic market.

[Raul Montoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great books for parents, teachers, people who are thinking about college, and also for people who are in college. Patrick Bet David doesn't declared that higher education is bad. He talks about who should or go to college and who shouldn't. Patrick Bet David is a college drop out who is worth millions of dollars. He explains why college is so over rated and so expensive nowadays. His ideas for what they should teach at school is very interesting. I high recommend this book. I've even finished this book in one day because it was that good.

[Franco Colomba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very educational, has a lot of inserts from other authors and articles online on the subject matter of colleges and if their worth the cost. I highly recommend this book to the younger audience that are just graduating High School or have just started college. Even students who are currently attending college and seem to not fit in, like myself will benefit from this book. I too took the leap of fate over a year and a half ago and have started my entrepreneur career. I couldn't be any happier and this book is just another one of the plethora of books out there to help and support your dreams. Also Patrick Bet-David has some awesome YouTube videos on his channel you should all check out!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

It makes the case as to why college isn't for everyone without bashing college. It still emphasizes the value of education.