For people who have the smarts, supportive family structure (have the ability and will help) and already know what they want to do, they can probably do well despite dropping out. For people who haven't figured things out or need the nurturing and or guidance and don't have anyone back home as safety-net dropping out is not going to help; I don't think.

So, yeah, for super smart people institutional education might prove redundant, but for many, that's where they are going to learn how to interface with the economy with improved effectiveness, make connections and build relationships (network).