[substitute]

I do value what I've learned at college level, both formally and informally. However, I could've (and would rather have) learned much of what I learned formally, informally, but had to do it formally because certain jobs I wanted to do required certification. This meant I had to take much longer to learn something not as well as I would've if I'd learned it independently and been able to just take an exam for the certificate.

Much of what I value from formal education is actually the non-academic stuff I learned. Socializing, as well as working the system, the mechanisms and stuff... that was all very useful.

I paid for much of it myself, and worked for it. But other parts were paid for by the Church, and some by the State when I was on a low income. None of it at all was paid for by my parents. They didn't even contribute to my basic education, let alone higher.