My USC Fall 2009 Schedule

As you probably know, I “graduated” from USC last May.

Technically, I still have 4 classes to take before I actually get my degree, a B.S. in Computer Engineering & Computer Science.

I’m not sure that I want to really finish, because I don’t think school would be the best thing for me to do right now.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg – all billionaires, and not one of them graduated from college.

That said, continuing on is the comfortable thing to do. It’s the status quo. It’s relatively easy, and I’ll be finishing what I started. So there are good reasons to drop out, and good reasons to continue on.

By the way, I have no concerns about what I’ll do if I don’t return to college. I’ll be making a lot more money and having a much greater influence on the world by developing iPhone apps. My apps already earn a more-than-full-time income. Going to school is expensive, but not because of tuition. It’s expensive because of the opportunity cost: I could be earning a lot more by working on iPhone apps.

Maybe I could do both. If I were a part-time student, and took only 2 classes per semester, I’d be done by next May – and still have time to do some iPhone dev at the same time.

To keep my options open, I’ve registered for my 4 last classes at USC. They are:

1. CSCI-491AL Final Game Project with Scott John Easley in RTH321 from 3:30-7:50 PM Thursdays. Fulfills Tech Elective requirement.

2. MATH-407 Probability Theory with Sergey Vladimir Lototsky in VKC100 from 9-9:50 AM M W F, Dis in GFS 221 from 9-9:50 AM T Th.

3. EE-328Lx Circuits and Electronics for Computer Engineers with Douglas Burke in KAP166.

4. AMST-377m Legacies of Viet Nam in VKC158 with Richard K Berg in VKC158. Fulfills diversity requirement.

I can drop any course before the 2nd week of classes without penalty.

Which 2 should I take first? Are any of these classes not offered in the Spring?