So I get that college in the US can be expensive, hence the rush, but for me, one of the main benefits of university was time. My CS class very quickly divided

So I get that college in the US can be expensive, hence the rush, but for me, one of the main benefits of university was time. My CS class very quickly divided into "those who could already program" and "first time programmers". (testing out was not a "thing" then - at least I never heard of anyone doing it for any class.) Interestingly it was more classification than groups. I spent time helping friends who were stuck, but I also spent a lot of time with other advanced students, in the lab, pushing each other. The assignments were trivially simply, so we just spent time making them more interesting. Because the course work was done quickly, we had a lot of time to go the extra mile. Time we wouldn't get later in life. The important things though, the theory, stuck with me, and even the early classes were valuable. Intro to programming only lasted a few months, then there was a lot more theory, and we could meld that into our code a lot more. I went into college knowing how to code. I came out knowing how to program, and there's a big difference. If you are in college today, funding aside, I'd say - don't be in such a rush to finish. Fill your spare time by sucking in riches, seek out every nugget, help others, be challenged, see the time as an opportunity, not a class to simply pass.