Thinking colleges don't matter at all in tech is another extreme. It's like saying one should not go to college at all because Carmack didn't and was very successful. Not everyone is autodidactic. Many people do need structured and well paced training. It is ordinary people who suffer in their career when schools lower their standard. See Mark Tarver's article on this: http://www.marktarver.com/professor.html

And speaking of personal experience, mine is exactly opposite to yours. My university made me. If it were not for my university's rigorous training, I would squander my four years, and I would not be able to do what I enjoy today. I owe a great deal to my university, to say the least.