I'm not sure if that already been answers (I did read through a few of the daily life in universities questions). So I apologize if that already been answered

I was curious about the age of entry of enlightenment period education (1600-1799), specifically university. And the General mental/intelligence intros.

There has been several arguments in the office about whether or not Thomas Jefferson, Euler, and many other figures were of exceptional intellect, or if they were simply wealthy enough to afford the schooling they needed at a young age.

I am more then aware many of the men we would find were very intelligent in relation to the average folk at the time, but I am curious if the age they joined really meant they were exceptional from childhood.

Summery of questions:

• Was starting university/college at the age of 11-14 common?
• Were wealth and knowing Latin the only real requirements (and not say, general intelligence)?
• Was the average upper education attendee really that much smarter then their trade-focused counterpart, or is that just how we remember/assume it was?
• Considering the differences in studies (major literature, language, maths, and sciences), would much of the education taught then be covered now in modern highschools & colleges? Or were they still at a fairly high bar of knowledge even by today's standards? (the schools, not the people themselves who often went on to be famous in their fields historically)

Thanks to all the people who answer, I love reading through the Frequent and Popular questions during my breaks.

EDIT

Changed the question to focus on Enlightenment philosophers rather than Renaissance. As per u/Enrico_Dandolo