[ucee054]

The degree is there to show that the candidate is qualified. One can't tell by mind-reading a candidate.

Unless the candidate was too poor to afford the school, or born in the 3rd world, or something like that, there's not much excuse for not having the piece of paper.

If you decide to hire the dropout, you are gambling on "this guy dropped out because he's the next John Carmack, not a loser". The odds are poor.

ADDENDUM: The degree acts as an arbitrary filter because you simply do not have the resources to exhaustively examine every candidate. you only take a closer look at the candidates that make it through the filter.