I agree it is remarkable, but I have a different take on success.
There is no need for a degree to succeed.
A salesperson, for example, may be taught the specifics of what is needed to know about a product, and once they have that, they need interpersonal skills, and the ability to get information they do not have in their brain.
Some of the most successful people have made it on the basis of their own hard work, not a diploma. That is precisely what makes this country so great.
In this country, anyone, and I mean ANYONE who wants to work and get ahead, can do it, and do it brilliantly.
It just takes hard work.
I never equated sucess with a college degree.
My personal idea of success would be to make a living for my family doing what I do well and love to do.
College ain't got nuttin'(necessarily) to do with that!
That's true in many many instances. It's also untrue for many many people. It all depends on what you do and how you measure success. There are plenty of jobs and fields which you simply cannot enter without a degree; and there are plenty for which it makes zero difference.
MM