What really makes the US different is most of us have a second chance, a third chance... to get a good education, or to choose a profession. It took me a few detours to find my calling. In most of the rest of the world, I would have one shot and if failed in that one shot, I might have to get a job in customer service answering phone calls.I didn't know that about Nadella. That's good to hear, I feel the same way when I see the number of CEOs of big U.S. companies who "just" went to solid state schools, it makes it clear that performance matters more than what school you went to. I think closing the gates based on university admission is a waste of human capital, despite the fact that it personally benefits me.