The College Dropouts
Hall of Fame

I'm a firm believer that most college students would be better off dropping out of school and investing the money they now spend on college. Then take the four years they would have spent on college and travel, work, play, and spend time with smart people talking about important things. It would be your choice on what's important, not a professor, not a dean, not a faculty committee.

You don't have to go to college to be a success. Even if you go for awhile, you don't have to graduate to be a success. Here are just a few of the people who have become famous and/or successful without graduating from college and/or high school.

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S. Daniel Abraham, billionaire founder of Slim-Fast. Joined the Army at the age of 18 and fought in Europe during World War II. Did not attend college.

Roman Abramovich, richest man in Russia, billionaire. Dropped out of college. He studied at the Moscow State Auto Transport Institute before taking a leave of absence from academics to go into business. He later earned a correspondence degree from the Moscow State Law Academy.

Abigail Adams, U.S. first lady. Home schooled.

Ansel Adams, photographer. Dropped out of high school.

Bryan Adams, singer, songwriter. High school dropout.

Calpernia Adams, showgirl, transsexual. Never attended college. As she noted, “My parents thought that college leads you away from God, so they hadn't saved any money.”

Gautam Adani, commodities billionaire from India. Dropped out of college.

Sheldon Adelson, billionaire casino owner. Dropped out of City College of New York to become a court reporter. He made his first fortune doing trade shows.

Mortimer Adler, author, educator, editor. Left high school at the age of 15 to work. Later received his high school equivalency degree and attended Columbia University.

Miguel Adrover, fashion designer. High school dropout.

Ben Affleck, actor, screenwriter. Left the University of Vermont after one semester; then dropped out of Occidental College to pursue acting.

Christina Aguilera, singer, songwriter. High school dropout.

Danny Aiello, actor. Dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to join the army. Later received a high school equivalency degree.

Troy Aikman, Superbowl-winning football quarterback, TV sports commentator. In 2009, he finally graduated from UCLA, 20 years after leaving college to play in the National Football League. Aikman had promised his mother, when he left school just two courses shy of a degree, that he would return and finish. In 2009, at the age of 42, he finally fulfilled that commitment, earning A's in his last two courses, thus earning a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Dennis Albaugh, billionaire founder of pesticide company Albaugh Inc.  Earned a 2-year agriculture business degree from Des Moines Community College. Did not continue on to a 4-year degree.

Edward Albee, playwright. Dropped out of Trinity College after three semesters.

Jack Albertson, Oscar-winning actor. High school dropout.

Paul Allen, billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, owner of Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers. Dropped out of Washington State.

Peter Allen, singer, songwriter, composer. High school dropout.

Rick Allen, rock star member of Def Leppard. High school dropout.

Woody Allen, screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. Was thrown out of New York University after one semester for poor grades. Also dropped out of City College of New York. As he admitted, “I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.”

Steven-Elliot Altman, author. Left school at the beginning of the 10th grade and ran away from home. Entered college at the age of 16 and earned a degree at 19.

Dhirubhai Ambani, billionaire Indian businessman. High school dropout.

Wally “Famous” Amos, multimillionaire cookie entrepreneur, author, talent agent. Dropped out of high school at the age of 17 to join the U.S. Air Force.

Hans Christian Andersen, short story author, fairy tales. Left home at the age of 14 to find work. Later attended Copenhagen Univesity.

Paul Thomas Anderson, director of such movies as “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.” He attended film school at New York University but quit after two days because one professor dissed “Terminator 2” and another gave him a C for a writing assignment.

Walter Anderson, publisher, editor. High school dropout who later earned an equivalency degree.

André 3000, see André Benjamin.

Mario Andretti, race-car driver, author. High school dropout who later earned an equivalency degree.

Anthony Andrews, actor. High school dropout.

Julie Andrews, Oscar-winning actress, singer, author. Dropped out of high school.

Jennifer Aniston, actress. Never attended college.

“Jennifer Aniston says getting a nose job was the best thing she ever did. But keep in mind, she didn't go to college, her marriage failed, her mom hates her, and she was in that Kevin Costner movie.” — Danielle Fishel, The Dish

Christina Applegate, actress. High school dropout.

Edwin Apps, British artist. High school dropout.

Joan Armatrading, singer, songwriter. High school dropout.

Louis Armstrong, jazz musician, singer. Dropped out of high school.

Peter Arnell, advertising executive. Never attended college. Talked his way into the advertising business after graduating from high school.

Eddy Arnold, country music singer and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was 11 when his father died, so he turned to singing at church picnics and other venues to support his family. By the age of 17, he was singing in nearby honky-tonks and made his first radio appearance. He debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in 1943. Between 1945 and 1983, 145 of his songs made the country charts, with 28 of them at #1. He sold more than 85 million records.

Cliff Arquette, aka Charlie Weaver. Comedian, entertainer. High school dropout.

Danni Ahse, multimillionaire businesswoman, adult entertainment website operator, model, producer, dancer. High school dropout who later earned an equivalency degree.

Brooke Astor, wealthy socialite, author, philanthropist. Dropped out of high school.

John Jacob Astor, multimillionaire businessman. America's first multimillionaire. High school dropout.

Chet Atkins, country singer, author. High school dropout.

Jane Austen, novelist. Elementary school dropout.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin, wrestler, actor. Dropped out of the University of North Texas a few credits shy of a physical education degree.

Gene Autry, singing cowboy, actor, songwriter, producer, businessman, author, baseball team owner. High school dropout.

Richard Avedon, photographer. High school dropout.

Willy Aybar, baseball player. High school dropout.

Dan Aykroyd, actor, comedian. Dropped out of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Dropouts with last names starting with B

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“Eventually I came to conclude that I could not find real knowledge in academic life, only hierarchies of knowledge that led, ultimately, to more hierarchies, not to more knowledge. I began to see university learning as limited, human, and relative. What was seen as absolutely up-to-date did not consider the infinite and timeless.” — Sharon Daniels, author, The World of Truth

Schools teach children to obey. They espouse the things we—the ruling generation—want kids to know. No wonder most schools are pressure cookers where bored teachers meet bored children.... Modern education is a wasted investment. It doesn't deliver what we need the most: creative answers to the challenges of our times... It isn't a surprise that many of the people who've had the greatest influence on our times were—from the perspective of education—failures. — Jurriaan Kamp, Ode magazine editor

When Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel, was asked by Newsweek magazine, “As a young man you worked summers in a slaughterhouse. What did you learn from that.” His answer? “To go to college.” Sometimes, college is a better alternative.

Drop out of school before your mind rots from our mediocre educational system. — Frank Zappa, musician, liner notes from the Freak Out album

If you have trouble learning, in or out of school, check out http://www.thelearningcourse.com.