You mean you think that I would get a lot more out of a formal qualification if I left my comfort zone, focusing more on the theoretical than the practical? My

You mean you think that I would get a lot more out of a formal qualification if I left my comfort zone, focusing more on the theoretical than the practical? My programming skills are pretty solid, I'm happy to sit down and write code for hours on end but as for the theory side I am probably below the par in terms of the other students.