In the spring of 1773, a Dartmouth College sophomore named John Ledyard took a hard look at his future and it made him antsy. He had two years of schooling yet to endure, followed by a life spent missionarying to Native Americans in the wilderness or servitude at some staid parish church. So he did the logical thing: He built himself a dugout canoe, grabbed some dried venison and paddled down the Connecticut River to his family's home in Hartford.

Bill Gifford is the features editor for Men's Journal and the author of "Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer" (bill.gifford@mensjournal.com).

The Ledyard family, safe to say, was not psyched to see him. But with his impetuous act, John Ledyard established a great American tradition: the college dropout who made good. In the years to come, he would sail with Captain James Cook on his third and fatal voyage, then write a book about the experience that became a classic of early American travel writing. Later, in Paris, he befriended Thomas Jefferson and their wine-soaked conversations led to the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Ledyard actually attempted the trek first, but failed spectacularly. Nevertheless, by the mid-19th century, he was famous enough to merit a cameo in Moby Dick. Another Dartmouth dropout named Robert Frost dubbed him "the patron saint of freshmen who run away."

On campuses across the land, maintenance staffers have been setting up piles of folding chairs for commencement; in lucky suburban homes, Princeton acceptance letters gloat from their new frames, while Section 529 accounts await their doom. And rich and famous college dropouts from Brian Williams (Georgetown) to Bill Gates (Harvard) puzzle over what to tell this year's departing seniors in their commencement addresses.

Neither is likely to advocate quitting school, but perhaps they should; the list of great American dropouts is long and super-rich: F. Scott Fitzgerald fled Princeton, while Frank Lloyd Wright bailed out of the University of Wisconsin and still managed to design some pretty good buildings. Dropout/anchorman Brian Williams followed in the tradition of the late non-graduate Peter Jennings. The list goes on: David Geffen, Ted Turner, Domino's founder Tom Monaghan, Whole Foods guru John Mackey, software oracle Larry Ellison, as well as Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Apple rivals Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. There's no shame in not graduating from college -- as long as you don't lie about it, like the now-former MIT admissions dean.

But all this raises a troubling question. Now that college graduation rates are through the roof -- more than 85 percent at many elite institutions -- where will we find the tech billionaires and television anchormen of tomorrow?

Of course, it's quite possible that the number of dropouts on the Forbes 400 list is dwarfed by the number who are employed at your local Starbucks. But today's hopeful students, facing graduation and the drudgery that is sure to "commence" thereafter, can still learn a valuable lesson from Gates, et al -- literally valuable, in this era of Rolls-Royce-level tuitions. Do as they did, not as they'll say: Get in someplace good, so everyone knows you're smart; stick around long enough to learn a little bit, find yourself and experience the different varieties of hangover, and then get out, hopefully with that one killer idea. As John Ledyard did, two centuries ago, save yourself some money, follow your heart -- and become the person you were meant to be, not the one others wish to see.