I agree about college being a good thing and without it you might not get far with designing gameing or whatever you would like to do. ON THE OTHER HAND. I know that for some people it is imporant to take a year or 2 off after highschool. like you said the burn out factor. My daughter went right to college 2 weeks after graduating and did great. Now as a mother of 6 she is going to futher her degree doing some classes online. My son on the other hand took 2 1/2 years working min wage and decided that it just wasn't going to cut it. He graduates in June with a degree in communacations and has a good job already lined up where he did his intership.
What I'm saying is don't close the door or the idea of college.