If an 18 year old shows enough promise to go succeed in ventures outside college, why would you think they would devolve to pointless hoop-jumping and grade gru

If an 18 year old shows enough promise to go succeed in ventures outside college, why would you think they would devolve to pointless hoop-jumping and grade grubbing in college? These sorts of criticisms of college seem bizarrely paternalistic or maybe fatalistic, acting like people lose all sense of agency just because they’re taking classes or something. The reality is that college is just like the rest of life: you get out of it what you put into it. It’s possible to coast and get the sheepskin, sure, but lots of people coast outside of college too. There are certain types of ventures in which we could expect an 18-year-old to find success absent a college education, yes. Those doors are not closed to college graduates, though, and many doors are opened through advanced education—not all of which lead to commercial ventures.