Peter Thiel’s $100K offer to drop out of college

PayPal and Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel started offering students $100,000 to drop out of college and begin companies or nonprofit ventures in 2010. The program has grown in popularity, with 20 new fellows to be announced soon.

Thiel’s fellowship program faced criticism as it challenges the traditional notion that a college education is necessary for success.

Meanwhile, a new study finds that nearly 52% of recent graduates in America are working in high school-level jobs like food service and retail.

Thiel’s program has had over 270 participants since its inception. Notable fellows include cryptocurrency platform Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, self-driving tech Luminar Technologies CEO Austin Russell and money lending platform Upstart cofounder Paul Gu.

Thiel states he considered disbanding the program at one point but decided to reinforce its mission of advocating for alternative routes to success—citing rising costs of college degrees and the subsequent student debts, ongoing campus antisemitism issues, and skepticism about university reform.

The billionaire holds philosophy and law degrees from Stanford University and emphasizes that the program isn’t suitable for everyone. About a quarter of the fellows return to college.