MIT junior dropping out to work on education startup he founded 5 years ago

I can't fathom dropping out of MIT with only a year left. Maybe he won't ever need the piece of paper, but surely MIT doesn't cram American History and Introduction to Communications in the senior year.

Quizlet's awesome. I take my hat off to Andrew Sutherland for making it all happen while working as a full-time high school and university student. It's not easy.

Congratulations on your success. However, I think you should finish your degree. Online flash cards are not the Future of the World.

:( not even one more year? What about 6.172 this fall?

I remember him announcing Quizlet on the short-lived TechCrunch Forums. I was impressed then and I am impressed now.

Technology is driving huge changes in the education industry. First the price of the technical information that comprises "an education" going to zero. The information that used to exist only in textbooks is now mostly available for free, or almost free. I have a relative in medical school who tells me that when med students need the details of a disease or medication or other medical topic, they just look it up on Wikipedia or another free site.<p>Second, the price of the learning technology is dropping. Quizlet is an example. It is getting easier to actually learn the material and verify that learning has taken place.<p>What hasn't happened yet, but what seems to be the logical next step is cheaper or free credentialing: a trusted organization vouching for a person's mastery of a body of knowledge.

While I wish him the best of luck, I'm not sure of the timing of his decision. After all, it's not as if people won't need help learning new things next year. Plus, he's got great traction so it's unlikely he'll be friendstered before he graduates.

How do you make money? If you don't mind me asking..:)

How is this different from what the Khan Academy is doing?