So, my $0.02. I have a CS degree from a small-ish state university in the midwest and, while I was quite a bit older at the time, I had the chance to observe lo

So, my $0.02. I have a CS degree from a small-ish state university in the midwest and, while I was quite a bit older at the time, I had the chance to observe lots students your age. Here is what I saw: * The biggest indicator of success in the "real" world was simply drive and determination. Some left school early and have become very successful, one an engineer for Google and one a very successful game developer. Others went on to corporate programming jobs and are doing great. Others went to grad school at places like Carnegie Mellon and MIT, one doing _very_ cool research and another landing as a product manager at Google. What do they have in common, they work hard and are curious. Work hard and be curious. * College is about much more than a technical/vocational education. Granted I learned amazingly useful CS concepts and gained technical skills. But I also had great classes like composition, public speaking, and matrix algebra. Those classes have easily helped me with my career as any technical class I ever took. Try to find a program with a balance. * College is about a lot more than the education. Because of great professors I had the opportunity to do undergrad research and present it at conferences. Driving my own research and being the expert on it was an amazing feeling. Presenting it in front of peers was equally amazing. I also had opportunities to become a student leader, organizing events and groups. These are skills that are integral to being a good team member. Find outside opportunities. So yeah, I was 34, not 18. And yeah, I don't work for Google or Facebook, but I work with damn smart people who constantly come up with awesome stuff. I am not saying college is for everyone, but if you make the most of the opportunities, it opens amazing doors. You could easily apply the above points to starting your career early and there are plenty of amazing programmers who already have. Either way, best of luck.