For years, college has been considered the best—and only—route to lifelong success. But it’s not. Today, it’s more expensive than ever, more cutthroat than ever, less likely to pay off than ever. And it’s getting worse.

Colleges sell an idea that you need them to be successful. If you give up four years of your life and pay them loads of money, they’ll guarantee you a good job, making a lot of money, social acceptance, and personal happiness. Except—they’re not very good at delivering on that promise.

Today, you’re more likely to walk away with crippling debt, a job that doesn’t require a degree, and a piece of paper that’s not worth the frame you’ll display it in. And even though everyone you know supports your decision to go to college, it’ll be you who’s stuck footing the bill.

That’s a bad deal for you. It’s time to push back. You deserve control over your fate and your future. You deserve the freedom to boldly pursue what makes you come alive, without the fear of friends and family disapproving or the anxiety that comes with owing lenders lots of money and feeling stuck in a dead end career. And you deserve a team, and an education experience, that you only pay for once it actually helps you get ahead in life.

That’s us, that’s Praxis.‍

When many of our parents entered the workforce in the ‘80s and ‘90s, college still seemed like a sure deal. Back then average starting salaries for college graduates rang in at nearly double what a year of tuition cost. Lifetime earnings were capped for many blue collar jobs. And white collar jobs required college.

Naturally, more and more people began filtering into college hoping to increase their ability to earn more money and provide the “better” life they always dreamed of for their families.

But time passed and things changed. Tuition increased a little. Then some more. Then a lot. Graduate earnings barely budged. More students turned to debt to afford college. And time to pay back student loans steadily creeped.

Meanwhile technology hit the mainstream. Computers got cheaper. Phones got smaller. And next thing you know half the world was walking around with an internet connection in their pockets. Suddenly you were only keystrokes away from learning anything you could ever want to know. And that spelled big change for the skillset you need to succeed in this new world.

Today the best companies (and careers) are being built by people who don’t rely on formal education. Self-taught individuals who live and work miles away from one another. Brought together by shared interests and a steady WiFi connection. The time, know-how, and cost to start a profitable business continues to drop as technology advances.

College just isn’t designed to equip you with the tools and support you need to succeed in a world that’s being constantly reinvented. Someone has to bring fresh ideas to the table, and rethink the way we develop the skills we need to thrive in the real world.

We’ve taken on that challenge.

Traditional brick-and mortar colleges are long on unnecessary fluff, but short on substance and outcomes. They offer outlandish electives, dorm-room juice bars, rock walls, and degrees in underwater basket weaving. Universities add buildings and students watch tuition rise. What a racket.

What’s missing is a different way of thinking. One that treats young adults less like cash vending machines and more like customers. A completely new philosophy about the purpose of education. That’s what Praxis is all about.

With a focus on your outcome, your skills, your growth, your network, and your goals, Praxis helps you get ahead for good.

Praxis is available online for anyone in the US with a WiFi connection. Our six-month bootcamp launches new batches monthly—so you can get plugged into a strong community of peers. And by month seven, our grads are starting full-time jobs at great businesses while continuing to grow.

At Praxis, you’ll control your future, not some outdated institution that is shielded from the real world.

You have to bear the cost of your decisions, no matter what you do—so you might as well benefit from them. Few things are as satisfying as getting out into the real world, discovering how to make a great living doing work that makes you come alive.

We’ll help you get there.

Below we’ve outlined beliefs that shape how we do business. And things we don’t believe. Praxis is built on these ideals. While college has lost its way, Praxis has a clear vision for the future. Here’s what we believe.

The days of spending 40 years at one company doing the same type of work while trying to climb the corporate ladder are over. Your professional interests should change over time as you gain experience and learn more about yourself, especially if you have a growth mindset. To best prepare for your own discovery process, the most valuable skill you can develop is being able to create value in a variety of settings. The sooner you can do this, the sooner you can start forging your own path.

Most people will still tell you to go to college because it’s seen as the safe and secure path. If you want to thrive in your career, there’s nothing riskier than doing what everyone else does. Building projects, starting your own business, working at high-growth startups, and learning how to be valuable are not just great ways to discover career interests and gain valuable skills, these allow you to take advantage of your existing resources to get ahead of the game.

Bold statement, sure. But it’s true. You don’t need a degree to thrive in a world that is changing for the better. Your ability to create value and your ability to convince others you can do the same for them matters far more than if—or where—you went to school. Your skills, your network, and your attitude are what open up exciting opportunities today.

Don’t worry about how you compare to others. Focus on your own development, growth, and decisions. You have one life. Make it your own. Your GPA, major, school name, job title, how much money you make—there’s a lot of pressure to keep score. But what really matters at the end of the day is how you keep score with yourself. Are you doing work that makes you come alive? Spending your time how you want? Investing in what matters to you? Getting closer to your goals? Forget silly status games and keeping up with the Joneses. Discover what makes you come alive. Focus on that.

The best way to get what you want in life is to figure out how to help other people get what they want. If you have an unmet need or desire and I have the know-how and skills to fill it, then we have an opportunity to help one another. You’re better off as a result of my effort. And I’m better off as a result of the money or experience I gain in return. When someone creates a way to satisfy the unmet needs of a lot of people, everybody involved benefits. To that end, increasing your ability to be valuable to other people is the best way to change your world.

They say “a picture’s worth a thousand words” and the same thing applies for your skills, your reputation, and your ability to convince others to take risks on you. Saying you know how to do something is fundamentally different from showing you can. If you want to build a reputation as someone who is interesting, reliable, and capable, show your work. In an age of near-limitless information access, it’s not enough to polish your resume and update your LinkedIn. Share your work. And become known for what makes you come alive.

It’s easy to criticize things we don’t like. But what’s more difficult is creating something. Let alone creating something better. Creating is not easy. Especially when you’re putting your work out into the world for others to commentate on. But it’s necessary if you ever want to get better at anything. Imagine if instead of criticizing, you channeled your energy in a positive direction. You won’t make the world a better place in the comments section. Get out there and create something better.

Imagine if colleges had to cover your student loans if you didn’t get a good job when you graduated. Instead of leaving you hanging with only a diploma to show, they’d probably focus more resources on ensuring you got the outcome you hoped for. Because they’d have some serious skin in the game. Only paying if you’re successful sounds like a novel idea, right? We don’t think so. In fact, we believe skin in the game leads to better decisions and better aligns incentives. Which is why we also back our entire program with a tuition guarantee. Land a job by the time you graduate, or you don’t pay. We only get paid when you succeed.