[rayiner]

You're ignoring the signaling aspect of college. If all the high achievers forwent college, the signaling aspect would be destroyed and those people would continue to earn more anyway. But for any given high achiever, it's not a good idea to assume that employers will take the time to figure out that you're a special snowflake without the signaling aspect.

It's like looking at Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein and asking if they wouldn't still have become successful bankers had they not gone to Harvard. It's most probable that they'd never even have gotten their foot in the door of the industry.