When Aaron Abramov was accepted into the University of Miami in 2018, he was ready to pack his bags and move from Los Angeles to Florida, envisioning a college experience enhanced by pristine beaches and colorful nightlife. Then he and his family looked at what it would cost: about $80,000 a year.
Abramov grew up in Beverly Hills and attended Beverly Hills High School, a well-regarded public school less than a mile from Rodeo Drive. But despite his address, Abramov says, “My family doesn’t come from money.” Thus $80,000 a year in tuition was not an option unless Abramov took out loans, which he was loath to do.
Instead he enrolled at Santa Monica Community College and then transferred to the University of California Santa Barbara—where annual in-state tuition is $14,881—lasting a year before he dropped out. He found himself “going through the motions” in school, focusing instead on a side hustle: a streetwear brand called Beverly Hills Club that he started with a friend. (In high school he had worked on a sneaker resale business with his uncle.) When he gave Beverly Hills Club hoodies and trucker hats to TikTok influencers like Addison Rae and Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, who posted selfies modeling the merch, the line took off. The first clothing drop netted $100,000. He was 19.
Abramov knew in his gut that college wasn’t the best route for him. Even if he had been able to afford the University of Miami, he says, he didn’t feel committed to a particular major and would have been “messing around, having fun” instead of working toward a career. He believes that that uncertainty, and the exorbitant bill, would have resulted in huge debt and not much else.
Plus: “I always had an entrepreneurial mind, and I thought, What can I do with $80,000 a year myself?” he says.
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