I went to college and would recommend it. Where I come from, having a degree is very helpful for getting your foot in the door. While I think anyone with experience, smarts, and/or skills could do many programming jobs, I think it can be hard to get a chance if you don't have a degree. Plus, I think that getting a degree can be beneficial since you'll receive experience and training in other fields that might be relevant to you later and should generally expand your mind beneficially.