u/Insane_phycho

I need outside opinions because I can't tell anymore.

Quick background. I'm 20, going into my third year at a local university studying sociology and anthropology. First generation college student, working about 24 hours a week as a CNA. Before this I spent some time at another university in the sate of Massachusetts until I had a manic episode my first semester there (I have bipolar disorder), medically withdrew, and lost most of my friends from that period. Took about eight months off, came back to school where am at, and had a really strong recovery semester. honors list, around a 3.85.

I applied to transfer to Brown and BU for fall 2026. Spent months on those applications. Brown rejected me last Wednesday. BU hasn't decided yet but I'm preparing for a no, mostly because of the financial side. I needed it to be either cheaper than what I'm paying now or close to a full ride, and that's a long shot at BU.

Here's where I'm at. I have two projects I actually care about. One is called Project Shibboleth, an analysis of how fan verification systems on Ticketmaster and Spotify code class as authenticity. The other is EccoMuse, a music blend app where fans pay for artists' taste recommendations. It has working code and lives at eccomuse.com. I've also been running a bilingual podcast under a pen name for a couple of years now.

The plan I'm considering: stay enrolled through fall semester, use the summer and fall to build income through online consultancy (I have podcast production experience) and possibly prediction market trading. Build out a beta of Shibboleth in that same window. If those things actually work, drop out before the spring semester and move to NYC to build the company full time.

Why NYC: more artists per capita than anywhere else, more VCs and angel investors, and I think in-person relationships beat online ones for the kind of company I'm trying to build, its also closer to where I live... Massachusetts.

Why I think this might be the right move. I'm in my third year and I don't want to keep going just to get a diploma. I want to actually build something meaningful, something that I actually care about and can solve problems. I don't want to look back at this time in my life and wished I had executed my plan to trust myself and my plans to pursue my dreams of building a company that I believe will bring value to the world.

My local uni doesn't have the resources for what I want to do; no real founder programs, the career fairs are mostly nonprofits and unpaid internships. My recovery period from the manic episode is actually when I came up with most of these projects, so I have a sense that I produce best when something is at stake, not to say that I'm going to put myself in a position where I enter another manic episode the move to NYC is going to be funded by the money I generate though prediction market trading and online consultancy. I wouldn't move to NYC unless I have the funding to move to NYC, I wouldn't put myself in a difficult financial situation.

Why I think this might be a terrible idea. My parents are Haitian and very strict. They would say no if I told them I was dropping out to build a startup, no version of that conversation goes well. The plan I've been considering involves telling them I'm moving to NYC to work for a company that I'm not actually working for. I know how that sounds.

I also have bipolar disorder and I'm aware that big life decisions made after a major rejection are not always the most stable ones. I haven't told my psychiatrist and therapist about this plan yet because I'm pretty sure they'd be worried. My therapist appointment is Wednesday and I'll bring it up there.

Cost is a real unknown. I haven't actually run the numbers on NYC rent or how long I could survive without a real job. The consulting and prediction markets income idea is more of a sketch than a plan right now.

I'm also aware that I've been pivoting. Plan A was Brown. Plan B was BU. Now I'm on Plan C. I don't know if this is me adapting or me running from something.

What I'd want from anyone reading this:

If you considered dropping out of college to build something, what made you stay or leave? What do you wish you'd known?
If you have bipolar disorder, am I underestimating the risk of putting myself under this kind of pressure?
If you moved to NYC for ambition reasons, was it worth it? Was the loneliness real?
If you have strict immigrant parents, how did you handle telling them about a path they wouldn't approve of?

I'm looking for the strongest case against this. If you think I'm being stupid, I'd rather hear it now than in six months.

How do I use SDD in Pi

How do I use GSD in pi

I'm 20, just got rejected from Brown Uni, and I'm thinking about dropping out of college to move to NYC. Am I being brave or stupid?

Any final discussions before Brown's results?

Any final discussions before Brown's results?

Brown AO checked out my site

Brown AO checked out my site