I know, right?

Shameless plug: I've angrily lambasted this asshat already: http://thisiswhyihatepeople.org/

While there are already so many responses that you probably won't even read this, here is my advice: I am a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, and I'll be graduating soon with a CS degree. I've encountered a large number of students here at Pitt that probably should have asked the same question that you are before they left. I know many who want nothing more than to just sit down and be a code monkey somewhere. I also know a great number that would hate nothing more than sitting down and becoming a code monkey. Personally, I'm one of the later half, and I value the theory based education I've received here at Pitt. If you want to end up somewhere writing code for cutting edge software, or if you want to do something in research, I suggest the liberal arts college, the theory will set you apart from other graduates who know 10 different languages and no theory. If you want to learn languages, do it on your own time, use college as a medium for learning the things that you wouldn't teach yourself. Use it for the opportunity to work on things that you otherwise wouldn't be able to work on. If you're looking to write software for internal use, or you're not trying to do anything off the wall innovative, go with the tech school. While many may not agree, and there are of course exceptions to every example, I really think the theory is what makes a CS degree, not the languages you know. Having a CS degree is being able to sit down and solve a problem with more elegance, efficiency, and creativity than the next guy and theory is the tool to do that with.