[bsurmanski]

For me, the biggest benefit of the university structure was 1) teaching me things I didn't even know existed and 2) teaching me things I didn't think we're important (but turned out to be).

(1) might be solvable with an online curriculum, but (2) requires an evaluation or end-game credential to force me to do it.

Other than that, as you mentioned an even bigger benefit was social, the shared experiences with others, and the cross pollination of ideas from these other people

[xvedejas]

It's not necessary to attend university to learn things you didn't know existed, or to learn things that seem less important in the moment. Whenever I've taught myself something out of interest, when I've seriously set aside time to explore a topic, it's not hard at all to expose oneself to many new concepts. This is assuming the field has a wealth of literature to read, and CS is one of those fields. Whether you have access to the internet or hardcover books, it'd be difficult not to stumble upon writing that is at least as compelling as the average college professor's lectures.

Disclaimer: I am self-taught in CS, but also have an Engineering degree. I entirely agree that the social aspect of university is the largest benefit.

[carlinmack]

maybe so, but there is a certain level of self-discipline and privilege needed to be able to study just from books. Lots of people on CS and other courses want friendly exposure to new ideas, not a recommendation of a list of text books