More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school

Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by DevX101 on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @09:02PM (#8007596)

If you got into Harvard for a full ride and don't yet have a company with significant traction and upside (see Microsoft or Facebook, the early years), you'd be silly to not accept the offer and go to school.

I don't consider the CTO a scum for making a ridiculous offer, but I would consider the student an idiot if he accepted. An 18 year old Harvard kid should be smart enough to not make major errors like this.

When Bill Gates and Zuckerberg left Harvard, it was already clear that their companies would be successful. At that point their opportunity cost of staying in school was massive. Most of us will never have this high quality problem however, so don't follow in their footsteps if you're not in a comparable situation.

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Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by rl3 on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @09:36PM (#8007671)

> An 18 year old Harvard kid should be smart enough to not make major errors like this.

High academic performance doesn't necessarily indicate good judgement or emotional well-being.

Five to ten years later, that same kid will probably look back at his 18-year-old self and reflect on how he has matured since, just like most people do.

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Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by nmrm on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @09:10PM (#8007614)

> I don't consider the CTO a scum for making a ridiculous offer

It's the pressure that bothered me.

The offer is also kind-of scummy even without pressure, though. High school kids are still kids, even the really smart ones. Role models matter a lot. Also, and this is pure conjecture, I imagine it's harder to walk away from the cash when you're coming out a low-income background, even if it's the completely rational self-interested thing to do.

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Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by jonah on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @09:39PM (#8007676)

I hope you were able to set him on the right path.

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Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by nmrm on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @10:12PM (#8007755)

I didn't have to.

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Re:More than half the Thiel Fellows plan on returning to school by sidww2 on Tuesday July 08, 2014 @09:50PM (#8007706)

Bill Gates and Zuckerberg didn't leave Harvard permanently though. They took a leave of absence which means they'd the option to come back if things went south. Also both (and Gates especially) were from quite well off families.

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