Fourth, Thiel already wrote an entire book (the Diversity Myth) about how one of the major barriers to progress in higher ed is the millions of dollars of often

Fourth, Thiel already wrote an entire book (the Diversity Myth) about how one of the major barriers to progress in higher ed is the millions of dollars of often federal money siphoned off to promote "diversity" -- which actually end up in the hands of special interests groups inside of universities. This is a bit like the auto union problem. Ideally you would save the US auto manufacturers but you can't if the unions have no commitment to making a better product and too much power. The next best thing may be to go your own way. That said, I'm not convinced that 20 under 20 is a very good model for the long run. Hopefully Thiel will iterate.