The College Dropouts
Hall of Fame

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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William Safire, columnist for the New York Times. Dropped out of Syracuse University to take a job as a researcher for a column.

Edmond Safra, billionaire banker, philanthropist. High school dropout.

J.D. Salinger, novelist, Catcher in the Rye (with over 60 million copies sold so far). Briefly attended Ursinus College and New York University before publishing short stories in Collier's and Esquire.

Carl Sandburg, poet, historian, Pulitzer Prize winner. Had little formal education but later attended Lombard College and graduated.

Colonel Harlan Sanders, multimillionaire founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Elementary school dropout but later earned a law degree via correspondence course.

Sankaralingam, social and political reformer, founder Land for Tiller's Freedom. A member of the high caste in India, he quit college to join Gandhi's movement for India's freedom.

David Sarnoff, radio and TV producer. High school dropout.

William Saroyan, Oscar-winning screenwriter, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. High school dropout.

Vidal Sassoon, multimillionaire founder of Vidal Sassoon hairstyling salons and hair-care products. High school dropout.

Al Schneider, founder of Schneider National freight company. Had an eighth-grade education.

Richard Schulze, billionaire founder of Best Buy. After high school, he sold electronics for his father's distribution company and later opened a car-stereo shop. Did not attend college.

Ryan Seacrest, multimillionaire radio and TV host. He turned a high school internship at a local radio station into his own show. At 19, he dropped out of the University of Georgia and headed to Hollywood to build a career in radio and TV.

Ke$ha Rose Sebert, singer and songwriter. Quit high school weeks before graduating and passed on a scholarship to Barnard College to go to Los Angeles to break into the music business.

Tom Selleck, actor. Left USC three classes short of a degree to become a contract player for 20th Century Fox. “I started out at about $35 a week, so it was a pretty big risk to leave college to do that. But it's like my dad always said: Risk is the price you pay for opportunity.”

Doug Selsam, inventor of The Sky Serpent wind generator and heavy metal guitarist. Attended the University of California at Irvine, but never graduated.

Drew Sementa, founder, Premier Payment Systems. Left the University of Central Florida after his junior year to join a dot-com.

William Shakespeare, playwright, poet. Only a few years of formal schooling.

Shakira, singer and songwriter who has sold more than 50 million albums. Attended a modeling school for awhile. Never attended college, but founded Pies Descalzos to provide educational opportunities to thousands of Colombia's poorest children and Barefoot, a nonprofit organization to provide schooling opportunities for millions of children around the world.

Adam Shankman, dancer, choreographer, director, producer, reality show judge. Dropped out of Julliard to return to Los Angeles to pursue a choreography career.

George Bernard Shaw, playwright, author. High school dropout.

Martin Sheen (Ramon Gerard Estevez), actor. Never attended
college until he went for a few months in 2006.

J. Earl Shoaff, the Millionaire Maker, never graduated from high school.

Walter Shorenstein, billionaire real estate investor, Shorenstein Properties. Dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania. Began buying commercial property after serving in the military during World War II.

Harper Simon, musician son of singer/songwriter Paul Simon. Enrolled at the Berklee College of Music but quit before graduating.

Alan Sillitoe, novelist. He left school at the age of 14 to work in a bicycle plant.

Russell Simmons, multi-millionaire co-founder of Def Jam records, founder Russell Simmons Music Group, creator of Phat Farm fashions, bestselling author. Left City College of New York to begin promoting local rap music acts (which he eventually signed to his music label) and producing records.

John Simplot, billionaire potato king. Dropped out of 8th grade and left home at the age of 14. He sorted potatoes and raised hogs before saving enough money to buy his first potato field. Became a millionaire by the age of 30.

Jessica Simpson, singer and actress. Left high school at the age of 16 to pursue a singing career. Later got her GED. Never attended college.

Isaac Merrit Singer, sewing machine inventor, multimillionaire founder of Singer Industries. Dropped out of elementary school.

Frank Sinatra, singer, Oscar-winning actor. Never finished high school.

Christian Slater, actor. Dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Alfred E. Smith, governor of New York and presidential candidate. Left school at the age of 14 to help his family after his father died. He would later joke that he received his FFM degree from the Fulton Fish Market in New York City.

Elinor Smith, aviatrix, the Flying Flapper. By the time she was 17, she was ferrying passengers on short hops from Roosevelt Field in Long Island. By 18, she had her own sight-seeing business. Never attended college.

O. Bruton Smith, billionaire. “I didn't attend college, but still had a good time. I think I probably had more fun than any human deserves a right to have.”

Patti Smith, poet, visual artist, songwriter. Dropped out of teacher's college to start life as an artist in New York City.

Walter L. Smith, president of Florida A&M University. Dropped out of high school but later earned an equivalency diploma at the age of 23.

Will Smith, Grammy-winning rapper, actor. Did not attend college. As the Fresh Prince, he and DJ Jazzy Jeff released their first album before he finished high school. They received the first Grammy for a hip-hop act. Due to the success of that first album, Smith decided to forgo college for show business.

Daniel Snyder, billionaire owner of Snyder Communications and Red Zone Capital, owner of the Washington Redskins. Dropped out of the University of Maryland.

Kevin Sorbo, actor, director, producer, and model. Left Moorhead State University early to pursue a career in acting.

James Spader, actor. Dropped out of high school. As he noted, "I left high school with the option of returning whenever I wanted. The high school was tremendously gracious in that way. They said, Any time you want to come back, we'll welcome you. Maybe I should take them up on it. I'd probably make great use of it."

Britney Spears, singer, actress. Dropped out of high school.

Jamie Lynn Spears, actress. Dropped out of high school.

Steven Spielberg, billionaire movie director and producer, co-founder of DreamWorks. Rejected by the best film schools, he enrolled in and then dropped out of Cal State Long Beach. Received a degree in 2002.

Ringo Starr, drummer for the Beatles. He did not attend college.

Gwen Stefani, singer and songwriter, No Doubt. Struggled in school. Never attended college. "School was just really hard for me. I didn't want to fail. I wanted to be smart! But I was really dreaming. ... It makes me sad when I think about it. I still have nightmares about tests."

Hiram Stevens, engineer, inventor. Dropped out of high school.

Kristen Stewart, actress. Dropped out of school in the seventh grade to study independently. “That was a necessity. When I would go away to work, my teachers would only give me a portion of my schoolwork, and I would come home and they'd fail me. I was very happy to leave.”

Patrick Stewart, actor, producer, director, writer. Dropped out of high school.

Ben Stiller, actor, director, and producer. Went to the UCLA film school for nine months and then headed for Broadway. As he noted, “I was the guy who dropped out and moved back in with his parents.”

Emma Stone, actress. At the age of 15, she gave her parents a PowerPoint presentation about ditching high school to pursue a career as an actress. Her mother accompanied her to Hollywood so she could become an actress.

Edward D. Stone, architect. Dropped out of the University of Arkansas.

Sharon Stone, Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-winning actress, producer, and model. Dropped out of Edinboro State University.

W. Clement Stone, multimillionaire insurance businessman, founder of Success magazine, and author of a number of books on positive mental attitudes. At the age of six, he sold newspapers on the south side of Chicago. By the age of 13, he owned his own newsstand. He continued to work odd jobs until his mother bought a small insurance agency, where he helped her by selling insurance. At the age of 21, with $100 in his pocket, he established the Combined Registry Company insurance business which he built into a multi-million dollar business. He dropped out of elementary school but later attended high school night courses and some college.

Hilary Swank, actress, swimmer, gymnast. Dropped out of South Pasadena High School to act professionally.

Mark Sykes, art dealer, gambler, bookie, gentleman, and rogue. Attended Oxford University for 18 months (primarily running highly profitable card games); then dropped out to gamble professionally.

Dropouts with last names starting with T

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