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Not everyone’s next chapter starts with a dorm room and a stack of textbooks.

One precocious teen spent all of high school saving money instead of stressing over college applications, landed a promotion offer at 16 that her company could only officially give her at 18, and mapped out spreadsheets covering every financial scenario for moving out on her own.

On paper, it looked like a great plan plan. But to everyone around her, it looked like a mistake waiting to happen.

Her friend heading to Yale didn’t hold back, warning her that skipping college means setting herself up to fail without a degree to fall back on.

Now she isn’t sure whether to trust her gut or give in to the peer pressure around her to take the more “traditional” path.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITAH for not going to college?

I’m 18F, and graduating very soon.

I’ve always known I hated the idea of college. I’ve been saving my money all through high school instead.

This teen already excels at work, but she feels pressured by people around her to take a different path.

I was offered a promotion at 16, and my boss just can’t actually do it until I turn 18, as per company policy.

Everyone seems to think I have to go to college, and it really bothers me.

One friend in particular has been putting a lot of pressure on her.

Especially my Russian friend who’s going to Yale. She says I’m going to fail if I don’t go to college, because then I won’t have a degree to lean on for work.

I don’t know what to tell her, because I really don’t know what I’m gonna do.

This teen has already spent a lot of time plotting her next move.

I have the money and will have the monthly pay to move out with my best friend and her boyfriend. I’ve done all the spreadsheets of all the different scenarios, I have a savings for emergencies, etc.

I just can’t imagine myself doing another 4 years of school. I hate it, and I know that’s so cliché.

It’s not that she’s necessarily bad at school.

And it’s not like any of the work is particularly hard. It’s not hard for me to memorize it, and I get concepts way easier than most of my friends.

I just hate doing the work and consistently forget homework. Which is so strange to me because it’s not like that anywhere else.

Everywhere else that requires things of me, I meet the expectations and more. Get things in on time, am never late, etc.

At the end of the day, she isn’t sure whether the tradeoffs are worth the potential benefits.

I really do have a passion for certain things you can only learn in college. But is the passion so important that I wanna be 100k in the hole? No.

So, AITAH? I feel like the AH in this situation, considering people seem to think I need to go, but I just really don’t want to, which I know sounds so shallow lol.

Deciding whether or not to go to college is hard enough as it is without all the extra pressure.

What did Reddit have to say?

Success nowadays looks a lot different than success 20 or 30 years ago.

Avoiding excessive debt at all costs is actually a very positive thing.

There are many other ways to set yourself up for success other than a traditional four-year degree.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a woman who got family pushback after gifting jewelry to her stepdaughter.

College is far from the only path to success.

A Yale acceptance is impressive, but it’s far from the universal blueprint for success, and this teen is wise to acknowledge this so early on.

Most other kids her age just shrug their shoulders and fly by the seat of their pants. And it’s safe to say most 18 year olds don’t have a robust savings plan, yet alone a well-thought-out plan for the next 3-5 years.

At the end of the day, this teen needs to choose the life that will make her happy, not everyone else.