I wonder if the flip side of this claim can also be true in certain cases. Could staying in college prevent one from achieving a global maximum? For example (this is just conjecture of course) Steve Jobs might have had too much debt if he finished earning a degree at Reed College, would not have been able to participate in home brew computer meetups and would have been unable to strengthen his relationship with Steve Wozniak. These factors likely would have prevented him from founding Apple.

Silicon Valley is a truly special place and I think there is a lot of value in taking a year or two off of college and try working at a startup, traveling and/or pursuing whatever else seems cool and worthwhile. Then you can decide whether returning to college is the right thing for you...