It’s a temptation many students face every semester — to stop taking classes or continue on with their education. Movies such as “Jobs” with Ashton Kutcher and “The Social Network” send messages to us that it’s okay to drop out college if you have big plans. It creates thoughts such as, “if Mark Zuckerberg did it and created Facebook, I can too.”

I’m guilty of entertaining the thought that I’ll be a great creator of an international enterprise and touch the world like they did without my diploma. But the truth is, only a handful of people go on to have great success without a degree. 

Back when I was about 19, I think I was burnt out of school and just wanted to be done. It’s not an uncommon thought — I’d been in school for 14 years by this time, and it was getting old. And the idea of not having to go to school anymore was like a dream come true.

I came close to dropping out because I didn’t appreciate college. But college is about human connection, and it’s a chance to practice for the real world.

There are more ways than ever to pay for college. There’s crowd funding on websites such as fundable.com, gofundme.com and Indiegogo.com. And there are more scholarships out there waiting to be applied for.

One of my best friends was a junior when she stumbled on a scholarship program at a Kansas university that helped pay for the last two years of school just because she wanted to be a teacher. 

There are hundreds of programs out there willing to pay for students to go school if they make small commitments. There was one mining scholarship I saw that said they would pay for a student to finish school if they committed to work for them for a year. 

There are thousands of dollars unclaimed at major companies each year. Sherwin Williams and Kwik Shop have reimbursement programs were if you are full time and you make certain grades. They will give you the money just for working there.

If you have to take a leave of absence from school due to illness or death in the family, talk to the dean of the school, teachers and advisors. They are there to help you. Set goals for yourself if you have to take a semester off to go back.  

With student loan rates on the rise and the economy on the fritz, I know it’s tempting to throw in the towel and call it quits — believe me, I almost did. But if you’re like me and want to go work at Facebook, Google or another big corporation, you’d better stay in school. They aren’t looking for a smiling face with no diploma.