Yeah, yeah, blah blah. There always were and always will be exceptions. What this article doesn't discuss is the fate of all the other college dropouts, you know, the ones who are not geniuses and end up waiting tables or fixing cars. Here is the reality of the situation:

Men with bachelor's degrees earn approximately $900,000 more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. Women with bachelor's degrees earn $630,000 more. Men with graduate degrees earn $1.5 million more in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. Women with graduate degrees earn $1.1 million more. Note that the higher the education, the less the gap between men and women.

I was a late bloomer, and didn't get my Ph.D. until I was 45. When I graduated, my net worth was $-70K. But I used my degree to get higher wages, and in 20 years I had flipped that to a million dollar surplus. Not to mention that there are other reasons for a college education than money, but the money part is a pretty damn good reason to invest in higher education.