I have been rejected twice from the Computer Science department at my college, which severely restricts the CSE courses I am allowed to take. I skip most of my classes, instead teaching myself everything out of the textbook, only attending class to turn in homework or take tests. With this state of affairs, I find myself wondering why I even bother to go to college when I'm working on a startup and only attend college to learn more about programming. Could college doom my startup to stagnation? Could it retard the startup's progress so long that by the time my product is released its already irrelevant? I've talked to several people about this, and there are 3 main arguments for staying in college:<p>1. Networking. The people I could meet in college are too important, even if I can't get into the CSE department itself.<p>Counter-argument: This only works if there isn't a better way to network with like-minded people.<p>2. Ensuring I don't miss out on important concepts. By taking CSE courses, I ensure i'm on an equal educational standing with everyone else and that I didn't miss any important concepts that I wouldn't have picked up during self-study.<p>Counter-argument: You can't possibly know everything and trying to write a perfect program gets you nowhere, so self-study would be far less time-consuming but just as effective, and I know that I am already very good at my chosen area of expertise.<p>3. It's a safety net. Unnecessary risk is stupid, and most startups fail miserably. The time spent at college is worth spending to ensure I don't get thrown on to the street.<p>Counter-argument: The time spent during college could doom the startup before it even finishes its product. Alternatively, if the startup did fail, my situation wouldn't make it unreasonable to go right back to college and find intermittent work to support myself.<p>I may be confidant in my ability to craft a product that can support me, but I'm sure everyone whose startups fail miserably is too. What concerns me is that, of the two internships I had, all I learned was that I absolutely detest having a normal job. If my startup fails, I'd just try another one, and then another one. I probably would never even apply for a job that required a college degree, so if I'm not going to use the scrap of paper they give me at the end, and i'm teaching myself everything out of a textbook anyway, am I wasting my time and putting my startup in danger, or would dropping out be a stupid thing to do?<p>For reference, the startup is not web-based - it involves games. I have 2.5 years of college to go and live with my parents somewhere on the west coast of the United States.