For me, graduate film school is an end in and of itself. I'm learning and being challenged by my classes, my classmates/teammates currently are or have worked in the industry, the thesis involves making a feature, and there is practicum where you are on set. You can pursue areas that interest you, develop movie credits, and use the campus for your shoots.

The teachers have experience in the industry, and we get master classes as well. We're constantly being informed about opportunities to do gigs, volunteer, or get grants. Working under a name as a student is a help: you're not just some random on Hollywood blvd.

Being in Los Angeles, there's also a pipeline to more than a few very well-known studios. Linked in will immediately let you know how many alumni work at those studios once you add your school there. All of this for far less money than producing a film on your own, where no one in their right mind is going to lend you money to do if you have no prior work to show, but here the government is more than willing to vouch for you.

In film school, you learn a standard way of doing things, that way you're not showing up to a set no knowing basic stuff and looking like an idiot. Maybe that set has different standards, but you've done this and you can adjust. Also, it helps to help you gain confidence, and for better or worse, you have your classmates that you'll be working on projects with, instead of flaky meetup people.

I think film school gets a bad rap. It can be a good experience. As with anything, what you make of it is up to you. Every project you take on should be approached like your breakout project. It's all up to you. Remember that an indie film costs about 1-6 million to make, realistically. 100k in comparison isn't much. Either way, the most important thing is that you do something. Now get off Reddit and do something.