These days schoolchildren are strongly encouraged to go to university because it will apparently give them better long-term prospects. However, there are loads of people, including many celebrities, who dropped out of college and have still managed to have amazing careers.
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Steve Jobs
Steve was enrolled at Reed College and his parents were struggling to pay for the college’s expensive fees, so he eventually decided to drop out, because he didn’t want to keep spending his parents’ money on it.
2. Reese Witherspoon
Reese joined Stanford University to study literature, though ended up dropping out after just one year to follow her dreams of becoming a full-time actress.
3. Lady Gaga
The singer dropped out of New York University in order to devote her time and energy to her music career, which obviously paid off in the end.
4. Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake was enrolled at Columbia University studying cultural studies and religion, before eventually dropping out in order to pursue acting.
5. Tiger Woods
Tiger was enrolled at Stanford University and was the star of the golf program, before leaving to pursue a career in golfing, only to become one of the greatest golfers in history.
6. Kate Beckinsale
Kate studied French and Russian Literature at Oxford University and after spending a year abroad in Paris, she decided to drop out to focus on her developing acting career.
7. Ashton Kutcher
Ashton dropped out of the University of Iowa to focus on his burgeoning modelling career. He had originally planned on completing a degree in biochemical engineering.
8. Bill Gates
The man behind Microsoft dropped out of studying at Harvard University to set up his own computer company with the support of his parents. It’s a good thing he did because computers wouldn’t be the same today without him.
9. Ellen DeGeneres
The talkshow queen and comedienne dropped out of the University of New Orleans after completing a single semester.
10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The actor studied French literature at Columbia University for three years before deciding not to complete his degree, but to instead go back to Hollywood and pursue acting.
11. Zooey Deschanel
Zooey started studying for her degree at Northwestern University, but dropped out after nine months in order to purse acting as a career.
