you can self-educate. you can educate in ways/venues other than college. further education is-not-necessarily-or-only college
however, college/university does typically take 4+ years, costs anywhere from USD$20-100k, and there's a lot involved other than actual learning. there are many ways in which we can improve upon it.
It's also a change in location. It's significantly easier to be driven and interested in a subject when there are a nonzero number of people sharing your interest to interact with.
