Also, at 17, you're likely to think you are way better at programming than you actually are. A high quality CS program will quickly disabuse you of that notion,

Also, at 17, you're likely to think you are way better at programming than you actually are. A high quality CS program will quickly disabuse you of that notion, thus allowing you to get better. At 17, I thought I was a brilliant programmer. Twenty years later, I think I'm finally pretty competent, and I realize how embarrassingly little 17-year-old me actually knew.