Some not necessarily cohesive thoughts from my experience, 8 years after graduating: College is probably more useful for tackling topics that you find more cha

Some not necessarily cohesive thoughts from my experience, 8 years after graduating: College is probably more useful for tackling topics that you find more challenging - personally I am trying to brush up on my Math after taking an interest in Machine Learning and it's definitely a bit of a slog going through textbooks by myself. If you can get accepted to a top college you will find it more challenging and rewarding than an average school. They will also usually have needs-based financial aid. No one I know who went to MIT regrets it. These degrees open doors in a way that they probably shouldn't. I really would say that if you can get accepted to a top program, you should take it. I am currently not using much of my degree since I was very interested in Systems work while I was doing my degree and have gotten less interested in it over time, but I do not regret learning the things I did, they were useful at the start of my career. A big part of the cost of college in the US is actually just living expenses for 4 years - If you can live at home or find a part time job as a developer, you can significantly defray the costs. You will probably get paid less without a degree than with a degree, making the benefit of working straight away smaller. A college degree is basically necessary is you want to work overseas. You will make more friends at college than at work. The world expects people to go to college, even if it isn't strictly necessary, and as more people graduate with CS degrees (enrollments are way up since I graduated), it will be a reason to reject you out of hand. I personally rail against the stupidity of funneling everyone through college, but I don't think you are making it easy on yourself by skipping one.