Very important, for a variety of reasons:
1. College exposes you to books, subjects and people you wouldn't otherwise encounter--a broadening experience.
2. You need college training to qualify for work in many, many fields and professions.
3. You'll earn far more money in your working lifetime than you would if you just had a high school diploma. See here:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm4. Whether we like it or not, this society, like all others, is elitist. People with college or advanced degrees have more status than people who don't. A college degree opens doors for you--socially, economically, professionally--that would be closed to a HS grad.
