I don't think this sort of strategy really can work for anyone who wants to do something other than write code (and not really low-level systems programming, ei

I don't think this sort of strategy really can work for anyone who wants to do something other than write code (and not really low-level systems programming, either--plain desktop and web apps, perhaps). Science, engineering, medicine, etc: the cutting edge research is published behind paywalls and more paywalls. A university gives you opportunities for research, a decent guarantee to employers that you know what you need to know (for this reason, GPA is important). It is so much more than what people here seem to think. You can buy textbooks online, but that's it. If that's all you consider to be "college," then you're missing the big picture.