Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is defending the value of higher education against Peter Thiel, who is giving young entrepreneurs $200,000 grants to abandon college. A Harvard and Harvard Law School graduate, Blankfein says university cultivates confidence, writing skills, critical thinking and the ability to engage with other people, helping professionals become more complete individuals. Palantir’s four-month paid internship for recent high school graduates offers an alternative route, with participants studying U.S. history and working alongside full-time employees on technical problems and product improvements. The Thiel Fellowship, which has operated since 2011, has also backed founders who dropped out of college, including Figma cofounder Dylan Field and Scale AI founder Lucy Guo. Other business leaders, including Anthropic cofounder Daniela Amodei and singer Usher, likewise emphasize the lasting importance of a liberal arts education, a diploma and the skills developed during university.
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