I think we believe (implicitly or explicitly) that "signaling" and "credential gaming[1]" are all the name of the game. I believe the best thing a college can do is place you in a community of people trying to learn together. A college fails this when you just have a bunch of people trying to past tests in solitude.

I want self-taught to be viable. I consider myself self-taught. I am one of those liberal arts majors that made my way into a data engineering career. I don't regret taking liberal arts but that's more due to a combination of luck, privilege, and personality.

[1] https://thepointmag.com/examined-life/degrees-of-anxiety/