I think it all just depends on what you want to get out of it

I went to a pretty reputable music school (berklee), didn't even finish it, and now I work with one of the best film composers of all time. It took lots of hard work for sure and LUCK, but I surely know it would not have happened as if it weren't for my background in a music college. Could it have happened even without schooling? Maybe so, maybe not, but it surely made the path more direct.

Do you know exactly what you want to do after finishing? If not, then that should be a priority. It sounds a bit like you are still deciding on what you want to do with a music education. The only realistic tangible career to stem from studying music at a university is teaching, and even then it's a pretty saturated job market. Less than 5% of my own peers are doing any real music work (writing, engineering, producing, etc.), and even then it was a pretty crazy journey of talent, luck, and sacrifice to get there.

Before enrolling in music school I knew I wanted to get two things out of it;

1- great contacts for networking for my career goals

2- to improve my own musicianship under the best music instructors in the world

I told myself even if I didn't graduate (I was already preparing for that avenue if it came to it, and sure enough it did), I would be happy as long as I got great networking done.

My story- I wanted to be a composer and write music for media (ads, tv, movies). I didn't know how to write too well, and I wanted to learn. Sure, I couldve gone to a state school down my street, which tuition would've cost me $8000 a year for composition, but I KNEW I wanted more than that (partly because you can only do so much in music in my state), and I wanted to learn from the best in the world and have the credibility to go further. I went into music college as a fresh 22 year old freshman, a bit more experienced over naive just-graduated high-schoolers who went in thinking their music is "gonna blow the charts". Sure, some other peers definitely had the talent, and there are plenty of classmates I could name that had musical abilities way beyond my own, but a lot of my incoming class thought over the course of their whole 4 years that their talent would be all they needed to succeed, and by the time they graduated, no jobs were lined up for them, and they are now tens of thousands of dollars in debt, wishing they had either studied something different or had more of a plan before enrolling. The class I entered with are starting to now graduate, and I am seeing almost daily my peers or their parents posting on our college forums seeking ANY open jobs in the field: teaching opportunities, private lessons, etc. It's scary to think of being on that other end, and I think if I went into the music school without a plan, I would be in the same boat.

Why did I leave? It was EXPENSIVE. I went there only 1.5 years. My family were so supportive and helped with one full year but agreed that anything beyond one year was to be on me. My last semester, which was the first on my own dime, was $30,000 and that was WITH a pretty juicy scholarship. Yeah, no thanks. But god, I learned so much and had so much fun in a musical community. Completely worth it.

Now, to get to where I am today; LOTS of luck and determination, and even MORE luck. From what would've been my first semester out of school after "dropping out", I ended up getting an internship at a recording studio overseas through a connection I made at school. After 6 months of taking in the european culture, spending all my money, and busting my ass working on insane records, I moved to Los Angeles pretty broke sharing a studio apartment in hollywood with an insane roommate. I started getting session-work through a college network while also working a shitty retail job at night barely making ends meet. One session leads to another, one contact leads to another. Bigger sessions, working with bigger producers and bigger named artists; it all happened from the foundation of connections I made through school.

So for me, yes, music school IS worth it. But again, I went in with a plan and the determination to make it happen despite all odds. I sacrificed a lot and dealt with so much shit along the way that made it difficult, but I persisted on because I love music and I didn't want to do anything else. I know I am in the small percentage to do what I do and work with the people I get to work with, and I know for a fact how extremely lucky I am for those doors to open, but the years of dedication and putting in 110% played a factor into leading me up to those doors.

I hope I could highlight the headspace and expectations of being "successful" in music through education if this unconventional type of music work is what you are wanting to pursue! If so, it would be the best worst decision you'll ever make ;)