For most jobs the school is self does not matter much, but going to and finishing school provides me a lot of information about the candidate without needing to discuss it. It's 3-4 years of life and work experience that is not directly related to programming. That is important experience to be considered when trying to hire a well rounded employee. It's not essential to have, but it helps especially if you are 21-22 years old and do not have a lot of prior work experience on your resume or CV.