I would look at this article as being about opportunity cost though, not necessarily that each of the bullet points must be extant in a program in order for you to enroll or stay in college. Ask yourself: would I be _more_ likely to meet smart people on my own without college? Would I be _more_ likely to study and engage subjects that are new and challenging? Not that I'm not implying an ultimatum between college and sitting around at home; it's all dependent upon your own motivation and circumstances (e.g. move to a city, if you think that would increase the likelihood of those things). However, anyone who's successful and hasn't gone to college _or_ made sure to attend to those aspects has likely just gotten lucky.
Cannot agree more about your motivation point. Yes college played a role in me meeting some of the most fascinating people, but the rate is not as much as I would want. And as for the challenging subjects part, well I would just say college really made no difference there, well apart from telling me what I should learn.
