I work in the games industry, and as a small piece of anecdotal evidence, some of the best programmers I've ever worked with never completed a degree, and some

I work in the games industry, and as a small piece of anecdotal evidence, some of the best programmers I've ever worked with never completed a degree, and some never even started one. There is a lot of talented people out there, willing and able to work hard. Limiting your search to university graduates is really shortsighted.