The article made mention of what the example males were doing and what they were earning. There was mention of the average graduate's earnings vs non-graduate,

The article made mention of what the example males were doing and what they were earning. There was mention of the average graduate's earnings vs non-graduate, but otherwise they're judging a person skipping a first year of college while they would otherwise have been spending money in the equivalent year. As you and others have implied, these individuals could earn, buy modest property in a quiet state/town, then live a decent life debt free - there are far worse things to achieve. My brother was a professional basketball player up until his mid-30s. I remember when he was about the same age as the males of the story, he was deciding between a four-year scholarship at an American college, or a four-year contract in the Australian professional league. The pitch from the college was that he could return to Australia in year five and earn x. The pitch from the local team was that he could earn x by year five, but have been earning for each of the first four years; the pro team offered university payments, car, and so on. Pros and cons either way. He eventually got his degree studying remotely in the later years of his basketball career and transitioned to a desk job. There's always a sense of what might've been, but I think things worked out well enough.