Ironically, the vast majority of Thiel fellows were studying subjects which put them on a straightforward track for getting a lucrative career (thus easily just

Ironically, the vast majority of Thiel fellows were studying subjects which put them on a straightforward track for getting a lucrative career (thus easily justifying the costs involved). The Thiel Fellowship would be simultaneously much more interesting and controversial if it targeted students at second rate private universities where the value proposition of studying is much murkier.