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Thank you for your thoughtful answer, appreciate it.

I agree that the relationship aspect of university is probably very beneficial.

Is it worth though to spend several years of your life in university "just" to interact socially with other people? My reasoning is that you could just go to meet-ups and events where "smart" people gather and make friends there.

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I would argue that, yes, it is worth it. Going to occasional meetups is nowhere near the same level of social immersion as going to a big university. And, like I said, it’s a lot more fun. Not just for people that like to party either, there are so many social niches you can explore in an environment like that.

This may not be a popular idea, but I promise it’s true for others as well: I can tell when I interact with someone that went to a >= decent university and someone who didn’t. There are certain social rhythms, assumptions, and shared values that may not be overt, but just make the interaction smoother. Not saying that as a knock against anyone who didn’t go to college, just that if you do, it will make interactions with the majority of people in industry smoother for you and probably even more so for them.

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