@paninid I would advise them to learn both thinking and doing. The combination has worked well for me.
College can be a good tool for learning thinking. Approaching it as a ticket for a career might not be as successful as people hope. For me, it was a great introduction to learning how to learn.
@gdinwiddie Through the years I've had students ask "why do we need school anyway?" I always look at them and ask if they already know how to do all the jobs. Then I teach them three old RTFM. @paninid