Rush Limbaugh, Tiger Woods among the most successful college dropouts of our time
Categories: US Education News
As college graduation season approaches this year, here's a smart reminder: A college degree is not for everyone.In a culture in which higher education is often promoted as a must-have for everyone, some very well known and successful individuals (in an array of fields) decided to ditch the academics in their own lives — and wound up doing very well thanks to hard work, enormous drive and total passion for their interests.Some of the most famous college dropouts in America include household names — and some of them may surprise you. Here's a look at eight prominent Americans who left college behind and made it big.Radio talk show host and media dynamo Rush Limbaugh will always be remembered for his impressive career in political and cultural commentary and broadcasting — all achieved without a college degree."I knew I wanted to do radio when I was 12," he said in a 2012 interview. "Because I hated school. And getting ready for school every morning, my mother had the radio on. That guy was having fun — and I was having drudgery." Limbaugh landed his first radio job as a disc jockey at a local station before he completed high school. After his graduation in 1969, Limbaugh attended Southwest Missouri State College — and then dropped out to get back on the air.In 1973, Limbaugh found himself in front of the mic once again under the alias Jeff Christie.It would be another decade before Limbaugh launched his career in political commentary, influenced by former President Ronald Reagan’s persuasive radio presence. Limbaugh himself then influenced scores of others in his field throughout his legendary career. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame this year, golf icon Tiger Woods risked his college diploma for a chance to go pro.Following a childhood in which he developed his love of the links, Woods attended Stanford University in 1994, where he played NCAA golf and studied economics.Woods won a record-tying 11 tournaments between his freshman and sophomore years at Stanford, but that's exactly how long his college experience would last.When Woods was offered the opportunity to join the PGA in 1996, he made the decision to withdraw from the university to pursue his pro career.Since his professional debut, Woods, 46, has clenched 106 worldwide wins and 15 majors. The golfer also has 82 PGA Tour wins under his belt — and is tied with Sam Snead, one of the greatest players of all time, for the most wins.