--- title: Successful College Dropouts Are Rare Exceptions description: While it’s true there are successful college dropouts, statistically speaking, they are not the norm canonical: https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/ author: The Conversation article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-23T13:00:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:33:10.771Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Successful College Dropout Is a Myth og:description: Most leaders stayed in school og:url: https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c5a2b009b14dfcc/6988c3fbbc6cfc7feb3e101f/successful-college-dropout-myth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Key Speakers At The F8 Facebook Developer Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Successful College Dropout Is a Myth twitter:description: Most leaders stayed in school twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c5a2b009b14dfcc/6988c3fbbc6cfc7feb3e101f/successful-college-dropout-myth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Successful College Dropout Is a Myth > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Jonathan Wai, Duke University and Heiner Rindermann, Chemnitz University of Technology / The Conversation](https://time.com/author/the-conversation/) ## Jonathan Wai, Duke University and Heiner Rindermann, Chemnitz University of Technology / The Conversation Apr 23, 2017 1:00 PM UTC  Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook Inc., waves to attendees during the F8 Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook Inc., waves to attendees during the F8 Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg /Getty Images by [Jonathan Wai, Duke University and Heiner Rindermann, Chemnitz University of Technology / The Conversation](https://time.com/author/the-conversation/) ## Jonathan Wai, Duke University and Heiner Rindermann, Chemnitz University of Technology / The Conversation Apr 23, 2017 1:00 PM UTC When Facebook founder [Mark Zuckerberg](http://time.com/4744422/facebook-f8-livestream-mark-zuckerberg/) was asked to give this year’s commencement address at Harvard, he asked for [advice](https://twitter.com/harvard/status/839184579340685312?lang=en) from [Bill Gates](http://time.com/money/4746684/bill-gates-donald-trump-foreign-aid/). Zuckerberg said, “They know we didn’t actually graduate, right?” To which Gates replied, “Oh, that is the best part! They actually give you a degree!” This recent exchange between two famous Harvard dropouts might lead you to think college doesn’t matter. Numerous media stories and even famous billionaires are glamorizing [dropouts](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1988080%5F1988093%5F1988082,00.htm) or encouraging kids to [skip colleg](http://www.newsweek.com/2017/03/03/peter-thiel-fellowship-college-higher-education-559261.html)e entirely. While it’s true there are successful college dropouts, statistically speaking, they are not the norm. As researchers in education and talent, we found that the [vast majority](http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2017.1302874) of the country’s success stories are college graduates, such as [Sheryl Sandberg](http://time.com/sheryl-sandberg-option-b/) (Harvard), [Jeff Bezos](http://time.com/collection-post/4742754/jeff-bezos-2/) (Princeton) and [Marissa Mayer](http://motto.time.com/4421972/marissa-mayer-mothers/) (Stanford). ### The myth of the mega-successful college dropout In a [recent study](http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2017.1302874), we investigated how many of the wealthiest and most influential people graduated college. We studied 11,745 U.S. leaders, including CEOs, federal judges, politicians, multi-millionaires and billionaires, business leaders and the most globally powerful men and women. We also examined how many people graduated from an “elite school.” ([Our definition](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613000263) included the eight Ivy League schools, plus many of the top national universities and liberal arts colleges consistently high in the [U.S. News rankings](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges) for both undergraduate and graduate education.) We found about 94% of these U.S. leaders attended college, and about 50% attended an elite school. Though almost everyone went to college, elite school attendance varied widely. For instance, only 20.6% of House members and 33.8% of 30-millionaires attended an elite school, but over 80% of [Forbes’ most powerful people](https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/) did. For whatever reason, about twice as many senators – 41% – as House members went to elite schools. For comparison, based on census and college data, we estimate that only about 2–5% of all U.S. undergraduates went to one of the elite schools in our study. The people from our study attended elite schools at rates well above typical expectations. ### Do elite schools matter? This year, elite schools saw an [increase](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ivy-league-schools-have-gotten-even-more-selective-2017-04-01) in applications and selectivity. [Research](http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w17159) suggests there is no difference in adult [income](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/what-is-an-elite-college-really-worth/521577/) between students who attended highly selective schools and students with similar SAT scores who attended less selective schools. At least for long-term earnings, where you go may not be critical, as long as you attend and graduate. Yet, our data show that for students with talent and motivation to make it to the top of U.S. society, an elite college might just help you get there – whether it’s the networks you acquire or the brand on your resume. While looking at over 11,000 successful leaders, we rarely encountered people who came from extremely poor or disadvantaged backgrounds. Helping disadvantaged talented [students](http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2372732215621310) enter elite schools could promote [diversity](https://theconversation.com/a-nation-at-risk-how-gifted-low-income-kids-are-left-behind-56119) among future leaders. ### College matters Admittedly, the educational path of the cream of the crop may not apply to most people. So, going to [college](https://qz.com/367077/frank-bruni-is-wrong-about-ivy-league-schools/) may not be the right or even the best path for everyone. However, if you’re a student thinking about not going to college or considering dropping out, remember that even Gates and Zuckerberg got into college. Even if you’re not aiming for mega success, doing the work to get into and [graduate](http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2017.1302874) from college today may open important doors. Perhaps in the future, college may not be as important to employers. But for now, college dropouts who rule the world are rare exceptions – not the rule. [_Jonathan Wai_](https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-wai-186368) _is a Research Scientist at_ [_Duke University_](http://theconversation.com/institutions/duke-university-1286) _and_ [_Heiner Rindermann_](https://theconversation.com/profiles/heiner-rindermann-357172) _is Professor of Educational and Developmental Psychology at_ [_Chemnitz University of Technology_](http://theconversation.com/institutions/chemnitz-university-of-technology-3046) _This article was originally published on_ [_The Conversation_](http://theconversation.com)_. Read the_ [_original article_](https://theconversation.com/the-myth-of-the-college-dropout-75760)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/"},"headline":"The Successful College Dropout Is a Myth","datePublished":"2017-04-23T13:00:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:33:10.771Z","description":"Most leaders stayed in school","url":"https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/","keywords":["Education"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c5a2b009b14dfcc/6988c3fbbc6cfc7feb3e101f/successful-college-dropout-myth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jonathan Wai, Duke University and Heiner Rindermann, Chemnitz University of Technology / The Conversation"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c5a2b009b14dfcc/6988c3fbbc6cfc7feb3e101f/successful-college-dropout-myth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Key Speakers At The F8 Facebook Developer Conference","caption":"Key Speakers At The F8 Facebook Developer Conference","creditText":"David Paul Morris—Bloomberg /Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4751061/successful-college-dropout-myth/","name":"The Successful College Dropout Is a Myth"}}]}] ```