The Cost of College

College is really expensive. Really really expensive.

In fact, the cost of college “has risen 1120% since 1978” — Jarrett Moreno

Tuition prices have skyrocketed into the $50,000 mark, leaving many potential college students with a dilemma.

Is college worth the money?

that’s a lot of red

But for people who want to be in the top .01% —for the 10x, serial entrepreneurs…there is a larger cost to going to college…

it’s TIME

This is the opportunity cost, and it’s very real.

The opportunity cost can be defined as the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. People who choose to attend college lose out on potential time developing products and building companies. And in the fast-paced world of technology and business, time is everything.

I know I want to be an outlier…but what is the best way to get there?

And so…I did something I do best — I asked a lot of questions.

I asked the world…What would you focus on if you were in college right now?

And I got some great answers {

Jason Calacanis — inside.com,launch,serial entrepreneur/investor,social media presence

Ryan Hoover- Product Hunt, YC Alum, Beast

Justin Kan- YC Partner, Twitch, Justin.tv

Keith Rabois — Investor, khosla ventures, Follow him on twitter

Chris Dixon- Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, genius

Steve Schlafman- VC at RRE Ventures

Alex Wilhelm — Chief Editor Mattermark

}

Lots of opinions…but what should they mean to me?

I have been trying to figure that answer out for a while now. And what I have been doing, ironically, is wasting time and energy doing so.

I think my good friend John Saddington said it best:

John Saddington- trytomo.com, john.do, genius

For now, I am not ready to leave college. College is fun, it’s comfortable, yet challenging. It’s a great time to make something happen. I do not have a reason, as of yet, to sacrifice that for the 0.0001%.

But — there is something to be learned…

Simply being aware of the opportunity cost has changed the way I look at school, and life.

For every decision, I sacrifice doing something else.

That hit me hard. Thinking about all of the other things I could be doing with my time…

But thinking about changing has motivated me to win every day. To do more and continue challenging myself and start solving real problems.

Wake up early…learn more…and grow quickly…You will be successful.

If you could go back to college (or are currently in college), think, for just a second…what would you have done differently? Then do not waste any more time — and do it.

Thanks for reading! I am Jordan Gonen: I love helping people solve hard problems.

Email: jordangonen@wustl.edu

Twitter: @itsjordangonen