Here's the thing, most people out of college can't code in a way that is meaningful for entry level at a tech firm. You seem to have the aptitude to get there on your own, but lack the experience / knowledge-base to convince most companies that you are worth the 3-6 months that are required to teach you what you need to know. After all, they can always grab someone from the graduating class of a top school, that has your smarts and more formal education.

I can't tell you how many MS candidate resumes I've read (CS), where they've done tons of projects, but there code sucks. That doesn't mean they aren't really smart and won't be great in a few years, but not now. 400 line functions (poor OOP), poor commenting, inconsistent naming conventions, poor memory allocation...the list goes on.

Figure out your issues and work on them. I understand the debt concern, but your expected value of success and future earnings will be severely limited. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.