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Harvard dropout Bill Gates thinks the value of college is 'easy to underestimate'

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Bill Gates, who famously dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to work on Microsoft, said today that the value of college "is easy to underestimate."

During a Reddit "Ask Me Anything," or AMA session today, Gates, the richest man in the world, wrote: 

I think the value of getting a great education - that is going to college - is easy to underestimate. The most interesting jobs require a college education. The STEM related jobs are probably the most interesting although they are not for everyone. The value of staying curious - reading a lot and learning new things even after college is also underestimated. 

Indeed, Gates has always been a big proponent of expanding one's horizons through reading. In fact, he reads more than 50 books a year. 

It also does seem like Gates has evolved his thinking on college — despite his own status as a dropout, his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made affordable college eduction a big priority, even as it's become a big point of policy for politicians.

Besides, in 2007, Gates returned to Harvard to accept an honorary degree. 

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Matt is a former Deputy Editor, Tech based in San Francisco. Matt came to Business Insider in 2015 from IDG Enterprise, where he reported on application development and new enterprise technologies for CITEworld, Computerworld, and Networkworld.