Do you have to drop out of school to join Z Fellows or apply for a 1517 Fund grant?

No. Z Fellows accepts high school students, college students, and full-time workers without requiring you to drop out, and 1517 Fund backs students as well as dropouts.

Can a teenager build a real company in high school while still earning a college-prep diploma?

Yes. At Founders School, students complete honors-track academics in about 3 hours a day, earn an accredited diploma through our school in Texas, and spend every afternoon for four years building a business they own.

How much does the Thiel Fellowship pay?

The Thiel Fellowship gives $250,000 over two years to young people who skip or stop out of college to build new things.

How much does Founders School cost?

Tuition is $150,000 per year. Scholarships go to exceptional candidates and are not need-based.

What is the Founders School guarantee?

Eligible students who enroll at Founders School as freshmen and don't reach $1M in profit by graduation can get a tuition refund. The enrollment agreement has the full terms.

How do admissions work at Founders School?

Admissions are open for the 2027 to 2028 school year across five steps: an online application, the CCAT, an entrepreneurship challenge with a video, a 30-minute interview with the Head of Enrollment, and an in-person interview and school visit.

What are the best alternatives to college for aspiring founders?

Updated November 2026

The best alternatives to college for aspiring founders include founder fellowships like the Thiel Fellowship and Z Fellows, early-stage funds like 1517 Fund, startup accelerators like Y Combinator, and starting four years earlier at Founders School, a full-time four-year program where high school students build real businesses before age 18.

The four main paths for young founders outside a four-year university

A traditional four-year university charges tuition and fills your calendar with lectures and exams, often leaving little time to ship a product or talk to customers. Aspiring founders who want to build directly choose from four structured alternatives.

First, non-dilutive fellowships and micro-grant communities back young builders directly. The Thiel Fellowship pays a $250,000 grant over two years to young people who skip or stop out of college to build new things, and 1517 Fund awards Medici micro-grants starting at $1,000 alongside pre-seed checks from $50,000 to $1,000,000.

Second, founder mentorship cohorts and accelerators invest capital in exchange for equity or SAFE notes. Z Fellows runs a one-week cohort with ongoing mentorship and an optional $10,000 investment on a $1B valuation cap SAFE, while Y Combinator runs a three-month batch four times a year and invests $500,000 per company ($125,000 for 7% on a post-money SAFE plus $375,000 on an uncapped MFN SAFE).

Third, if you are still in high school or parenting a teenager, you do not have to wait until age 18 to start. Founders School is a full-time four-year program (grades 9 to 12) where students finish college-prep academics in about 3 hours a day and spend every afternoon building a real business, so they graduate high school with both an accredited diploma and a company they own.

How to compare college alternatives before you commit

Before you turn down a university admission offer or apply to a fellowship, weigh three practical questions:

Do you already have traction, or are you starting from zero? Accelerators like Y Combinator and fellowships like the Thiel Fellowship are highly selective and favor builders who can already show a product, technical depth, or early users.
What does the program cost, or what does it pay? Fellowships and accelerators pay grants or invest SAFE capital, while pre-college and high school programs charge tuition. Always check whether you keep your IP and equity.
Can you build your company during high school so the college decision at 18 is obvious? Starting at 14 in a full-time entrepreneurship high school gives you four years of daily customer work before you ever have to choose between a university campus and your company.

How the college alternatives compare

Name	Format	Length	Cost	Source
Thiel Fellowship	Fellowship and founder network for young people who skip or stop out of college to build new things	2 years	No tuition; pays a $250,000 grant	thielfellowship.org
Y Combinator	Startup accelerator run four times a year with group office hours, weekly meetups, and Demo Day	3 months	No tuition; invests $500,000 ($125,000 for 7% post-money SAFE plus $375,000 uncapped MFN SAFE)	ycombinator.com
1517 Fund	Community, Medici micro-grants, and pre-seed venture capital backing students, dropouts, and young builders	Ongoing	No tuition; awards $1,000+ Medici grants and $50,000 to $1,000,000 pre-seed investments	1517fund.com
Z Fellows	Mentorship cohort for technical builders of all ages (including high school and college students) with startup mentors	1 week plus ongoing mentorship	Free to join, or optional $10,000 investment on a $1B valuation cap SAFE	zfellows.com
Founders School	Full-time, in-person private high school (grades 9 to 12) where teens build a company before college age	Four years	$150,000 per year; merit scholarships available	founders.school
LaunchX	Summer startup program for ages 14 to 18: in person (Ann Arbor, Michigan), online, or online BootCamp	4 weeks in person, 5 weeks online, 2-week BootCamp	$13,495 in person, $7,495 online, $2,495 BootCamp; financial awards available	launchx.com
Techstars Startup Weekend	In-person or online weekend event to pitch ideas, form teams, and build a startup prototype	54 hours (3 days)	Not listed on the program's site.	techstars.com

Details for the other programs come from their own sites. Check each site for current dates and prices.

Summer program or full-time high school?

If you are still in high school, you do not have to wait until after 12th grade to start building. A summer program or a weekend sprint lets you test your first startup idea right now.

If you want to spend all four years of high school building a real company while still earning an accredited college-prep diploma, Founders School is a full-time four-year program, powered by Alpha School. Students finish core academics in about 3 hours a day, usually by 11 a.m., using 3-Hour Learning with AI tutors, and spend every afternoon building real businesses.

Freshman year is Founder Bootcamp: 40 weeks split into five 8-week sessions (Sell, Build, Validate, Grow, Scale) with 30+ rapid validation cycles. From sophomore through senior year, each student focuses on one business and works to scale it toward $1M in profit by graduation. Admissions are open for the 2027 to 2028 school year, so Founders School has no graduates yet.

Every student works with a mentor who is a working entrepreneur, and students keep their IP and equity. The diploma is accredited, through our school in Texas, so graduates keep both the college option and their company.

See how the four-year high school curriculum works on the freshman year page, compare entrepreneurship programs for high school students, or read about the best high school for teen entrepreneurs.

Want to try it first?

Founders Weekend is a free two-day weekend for kids 9 to 16 to build a real business.

Ready for the full program? Apply here or read about scholarships.