My decision on college

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time…

But for some reason, I’ve felt resistance to sharing my thoughts. Maybe I’m not sure if I made the right decision. Maybe I’m scared of being judged.

What I do know is when I feel that resistance, it’s usually a sign to lean in and confront it. So here I am.

My thoughts on college:

The other day, a friend asked what I thought business professors could teach me that I haven’t already learned or couldn’t learn on my own.

It’s an excellent question. Because of the internet, the means of learning have never been more abundant.

And I’m living proof.

At 18, I’ve built a skillset, network, and brand through social media, where I have more opportunities than I have time for.

The clients I previously worked with keep asking to work with me again.

People I’ve looked up to for years are offering me full-time job offers.

I had to reduce my role at the Startup Archive because I didn’t have time.

Friends want me to consult them on starting their own brand and business.

There are too many opportunities for me to start businesses, take side projects, and make money - but simply not enough time.

And I’ve done this all while being a full-time high school student.

Yet, despite all this, I’m still considering going to college.

But before I reveal my decision, I want to walk you through my thought process, and ultimately, share questions and frameworks you can use if you’re faced with a similar decision.

Don’t blindly follow the crowd

As a kid, I never fully knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. At one point I wanted to be a magician. At another, I was set on becoming a professional basketball player.

What never crossed my mind, until recently, was the thought of NOT going to college.

I mean, my both parents went to college. All my aunts and uncles went to college. Why wouldn’t I do the same?

But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from building online is to question the status quo. Just because everyone else is doing something doesn’t make it right for you.

The problem most people face is letting societal inertia pull them along a path they didn’t intentionally choose. Then they wake up one day and realize they aren’t where they want to be in life.

As you can probably tell, that path scares me. Step number one is realizing that college isn’t an expectation, it’s a decision. And like all decisions, all options must be taken into consideration.

Create your own maps

Throughout this process, I asked A LOT of people for advice on whether I should go to college. Some advice was insightful. Others not so much. But all the advice was just that… advice. Nothing more, nothing less.

Because the truth is, “advice” is just someone sharing their opinion from their own life experiences. While it’s important to collect data points, you can’t know until you stress-test that advice. Again, what’s right for them isn’t necessarily right for you.

Through starting a bunch of businesses, I realized that I really enjoyed entrepreneurship.

My biggest problem with college is it makes 18-year-olds spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to major in a field they don’t know if they truly like.

If you think you want to become a doctor, shadow a doctor for a day.

If you think you want to go into finance, intern at a private equity firm.

If you think you want to become an entrepreneur, apprentice under an entrepreneur.

You can’t know what you like (and don’t like) until you go out and do it.

Filter your decision through different lenses

To help me with my decision, I took pen to paper and listed all the things I valued in my life and career.

I also studied different decision-making frameworks like:

One-Way vs. Two-Way Doors — One-way doors are irreversible. Make those decisions slowly. Two-way doors are reversible. Make those swiftly.

Sunk Cost Fallacy — We stay on our current path because we feel like we’ve already invested so much time, effort, and money. Am I focusing on future results or past commitments?

Confirmation Bias — We tend to block ourselves to new ways of thinking and only cherry-pick the information that confirms our existing beliefs. Am I considering ALL the information here?

Inversion — Flip the decision on its head. What’s the absolute worst outcome? What do I NOT want to happen? How can I avoid that?

Second-Order Thinking — Don’t just look at the immediate consequences. Look at the consequences of those consequences. If X happens, then Y happens. What happens after Y?

Opportunity Cost — Every choice has a trade-off. What am I giving up by choosing Path A over Path B?

Ignorance is the enemy of clear thinking. When we aren’t aware of our cognitive tendencies, we become trapped in default modes of thinking.

Going to college is no small decision. There’s a lot to think about. It can be overwhelming. I struggled with this for months, going back and forth more times than I’d like to admit.

Luckily, as my friend pointed out: I’ve put myself in a position where there are no wrong choices, only tradeoffs.

As much as I wish there was a magic button that I could press to give me the answer, ultimately, it’s my life and I have to decide for myself.

So here goes nothing. Or maybe everything.

My decision

I am going to college.

I’ve committed to the University of Illinois to study business. Here’s why:

Can’t knock it until you try it — I’ve heard many arguments on both sides about the benefits and downsides of college. But the truth is I can’t know how college will be until I go.

There’s more to life than work — Work plays a big role in my life. I LOVE what I do. Sometimes I have to remind myself to take a break and go to the bathroom because I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing. But I also know other areas of my life need development too.

Wifey — I’ll be transparent. I haven’t found someone I’ve truly connected with yet. College is a great environment to form close friendships and potentially find a life partner. There will never be so many people my age all in one place.

It’s a reversible decision — I’m not committing to going for the full four years, but I am committing to at least going and seeing if I enjoy it. If I don’t like it or think it’s a waste of time, I’ll stop. And I’ll leave with incredible stories to share about my college experience.

The Middle Path

Does that mean I’m going to stop doing all the stuff that I’m doing now?

absofreakinglutely not!

In fact, in college, I’ll have more time to pursue my entrepreneurial endeavors. College isn’t a binary decision. It’s not this OR that. It’s this AND that.

Are there tradeoffs? Of course. There are opportunity costs to everything. But I’m confident that If I can handle balancing both in high school, I can do the same (if not better) in college.

Don’t let anyone make you think you can’t pursue entrepreneurship and go to college.

Final Note

Lastly, if you’re faced with a similar decision, I want to leave you with a few closing thoughts:

• First and foremost, this is NOT advice. This is simply my way of sharing my decision-making process. My journey is more than likely much different than yours. Take everything with a grain of salt.

• Just because everyone else is doing something doesn’t make it right for you. If you want a life most don’t have, you have to do things most don’t do.

• Most importantly, carve out time to reflect on what you genuinely want (and don’t want) in life. This will help orient you in the right direction. Don’t skip this!

• Ultimately, the best way to prove others wrong isn't to find the perfect counter-argument, it's to show them your results.

One of my arguments for taking a gap year was that I’d “get ahead” of everyone else by working full-time instead of part-time.

But then I thought, “Get ahead of who? Get ahead why?”

I was thinking with a finite mindset. But the point of life, business, and relationships isn’t to “win”. It’s to stay in the game.

Instead of trying to “get ahead”, my focus is on enjoying the ride.

You only get to play this game once.

See you next Sunday,

Jay “You Can Do Both” Yang

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