Colleges are basically a networking system first and an educational institution later. Bootcamps, online courses etc. have bitten off a serious chunk of the lat

Colleges are basically a networking system first and an educational institution later. Bootcamps, online courses etc. have bitten off a serious chunk of the latter part. Arguably, a formally recognised degree is still valuable atleast for some professions but that's mostly it. The networking system is hard to overestimate. But this is only sufficiently true if you go to a "good" college. You meet people and have the time and proximity to vet them over an extended period. You also have a brand (e.g. in India, being an IITian automatically changes the way people look at you and that's worth something if you're trying to get funding etc.). There are no quick substitutes for this and in my mind, colleges are still very valuable for this.