To be in an environment with like-minded individuals so one can foster ambition, inspiration, and collaboration.
Your sentiment can be applied to any skillset. The same reason why a college degree is not needed for programmers.. One can learn concepts and languages from books outside of college. However the resources available in a community of like-minded individuals provides great benefit for the study of said topic.
>>To be in an environment with like-minded individuals so one can foster ambition, inspiration, and collaboration.
Colleges are not the only such environment. But it is the most expensive.
>>Your sentiment can be applied to any skillset.
Not really, no. Would you let a doctor without w college degree operate on you? Have your city's bridges and buildings designed and built by engineers and architects who learned their trades from books?
Can you explain why someone needs a college education to become a painter, poet or musician?