That's the thing, though; it's only a differentiator for the first level, the entry level,
in the absence of any other significant information. If you have anything of substance in your resume to get past it, most likely that will be considered far more important than your formal educational background by a factor of 10.
I worked nearly full-time while in college (also full-time) for 2.5 years before dropping out, much of that time spent at a small local ISP in Georgia. I came in as tech support out of high school, and a year and a half later ended up its chief system administrator and basically operating the facilities side of the place. After that ended, I dropped out. Noone at any job I have held since or in between (and I've held quite a few) has - after a look at my resume - thought to inquire about my degree, whether I had gone to college, whether I had graduated, or anything like that. The focus was all on the experience. And since that point I have not been considered an "entry-level" applicant at any subsequent job, so there's no interest whatsoever in using entry-level criteria to differentiate me.
The only problem is that first hurdle, and it's not impossible to overcome. It may be challenging, but it sure as hell is cheaper and easier to overcome that challenge than to go to college to achieve the same end -- assuming, of course, that that's your only purpose in going to college.