This seems strange. It's like you only want people who only sort of deviated from the requirements to graduate in some field - who don't commit to following the

This seems strange. It's like you only want people who only sort of deviated from the requirements to graduate in some field - who don't commit to following their own path, but also don't commit to their studies. Why not just go all the way, and prefer students who took random classes for a decade to gain an education in the fields of their interest and had great experiences, yet never graduated? That seems like the continuation of the reasoning you are describing. Also, if the core problem is students setting out to get a degree, then the system is fundamentally broken - after all, the unique differentiator of universities is the ability to award degrees. FWIW, I think college is significantly overrated, but treating a high GPA as a red flag and yet seeking candidates with a degree seems contradictory to me. For some context, my own experience was that I had offers for employment before university, but I decided a diploma would be valuable, so I spent 3 years in school to finish a 4 year degree with a "high GPA." That's a red flag?