Sorry, where did the "reduction" occur in rephrasing "above a certain intelligence, college is free" to "if you can't afford college, you're missing some intelligence"?

The one is just the logical contrapositive of the other.

Those aren't the same thing, that's where the reduction occurred.

My statement, which is the simple reality of the world, was that top performing students who are able to prove so via grades, test scores and other admissions requirements and scholarship requirements, are able to have top tier educations paid for via scholarships and similar aid. For folks, like me, who weren't in that bucket, have a different set of opportunities and tradeoffs. Those include paying for a 200k "top tier" education if our situation affords it, or the choice I and many others make which is to go to the best state school (or other "affordable") option.

I'm not complaining, it's just how the world works. If you were to create a flow chart for college that covers any input (student), this is what it would look like.

Reducing the above to "college is free above a certain intelligence" is missing the point and focusing on a needless obsurd detail.