College teaches you theory and how not to fail. Business makes you practice and rewards success, plus if you do it right you come out with profit instead of government secured debt. And even if you screw up the business, that debt will be a lot easier to manage.

You know that a “mainstream higher education” is not a necessary requirement for earning “higher” amounts of money and enjoying a “higher” lifestyle. You do SEO and you probably taught yourself much of it, and when you do seek education you probably do it through informal channels that provide you direct access to the cutting-edge of your field.

Of course a “mainsteam” education with tired professors recycling ancient knowledge sucks compared to the knowledge you have access to, and the manner in which you have access to it.

But most other people don’t have the same experience. They are not familiar with alternative ways of earning money and living life. So they default to the way that “everybody knows”: get a reputable mainstream education, get a good job, work hard, live life one step ahead of yourself courtesy of credit cards, etc…