[quote=beanmaestro][quote=davelj][quote=flu]I don’t know, I wouldn’t want my kid to be gambling on those odds thinking she was one of those “gifted ones”.
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It’s way beyond being “gifted.” Anyone with Bill Gates’ level of success got VERY VERY lucky at multiple points along the path. There are plenty of folks with Bill Gates’ intellect and drive, but we don’t read about them. Because they didn’t have Bill Gates’ luck.[/quote]

I disagree, so let me play some devil’s advocate:

Bill Gates had the drive and intellect to be an entrepeneur, and you really don’t need a college degree for that (in some fields). There are lots of successful entrepeneurs out there, not just the 1% most gifted. And you don’t have to found Microsoft to have a good career working for yourself.

The catch is that few 18-to-22 year olds have the drive, confidence, and initial capital to start a business. Worse, the skills to do it aren’t being taught in high school, because of the attitude that “college is for that.” I think we’d do well to let high-initiative kids take a year off before college, and let them use some of their college money trying to start a business, organization, or whatever.[/quote]

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said here. My point was less about college vs. no college, and more about the extremely low odds of achieving Bill Gates’ level of success, completely regardless of intelligence, drive, etc.