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The Ten Most Famous University of Miami Dropouts

Lots of successful people have degrees from the University of Miami. Everyone from Gloria Estefan to, like, 10 percent of the NFL. But some of the school's most famous former students never graduated -- either opting to transfer or quit college altogether. Current UM kids, don't take this as inspiration to drop your studies. We're sure we could show you a totally depressing list of completely unfamous UM dropouts that includes everyone from strippers to professional parent-moochers. Keep up those studies.


Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, and his wife, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
The patron saint of sci-fi TV fans also spent time at Columbia and the University of Southern California, but he never picked up a degree at any of those schools and instead ended up enlisting in the Air Force during World War II. However, he did pick up something in Coral Gables that he didn't at the other schools: something to talk about with the woman he would marry. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who had roles on both the original series and The Next Generation, also attended UM, but the two didn't meet there. The couple ended up meeting in California in the '60s.

Ben Folds, lead singer of Ben Folds Five
There's a rumor that Ben Folds's college drum kit lies somewhere at the bottom of Lake Osceola, which might actually be true. Folds, who attended the music school on a drum scholarship, tells a story during some live concerts about how he broke his hand defending his roommate from bullies the night before a jury recital. You tend to need both hands to drum, and Folds failed so completely that he lost his scholarship, or so he claims. So he dropped out, but not before throwing his drum set into the lake. Like a brick, it probably drowned slowly.

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Kyle Munzenrieder

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