@laenen, having been a member of SF Bay area’s gifted homeschooling group for 8 years, I have seen / heard many successful academic career after those early colleges. So definitely yes.
But I have seen many many more who just stayed with community colleges until 17~18 and moving to a top college, and their career prospect seem better unless you are looking for science/engineering Ph.D right after early college. Community college seem better alternative for a gifted but not genius child like mine.
That’s dd’s favorite alternative/backup if boarding school doesn’t work for her. And that’s how she can afford to consider the JBS at the risk of coming back home after one year. This semester she looks older and is making college aged friends more easily, both boys and girls. So that’s not a bad alternative socially either.
Even if a top bs may give higher quality and more rigorous courses, community colleges may still be a better academic platform due to it’s flexibility in choosing courses. There are six cc around us, 3 of them in 15 minutes driving. She can take many cc courses until 18, without taking too many at any one of them.