I went to college, though I didn't take many writing courses.

I found college useful for a lot of other reasons. It exposed me to a great many influences I wouldn't otherwise have encountered, and gave me a lot of time with some very intelligent people whose thoughts are still with me.

Try to meet as many authors, agents, and editors as you can.

Everything that you read is an influence on everything you write, and you want to draw as many elements into your work as you can.

I took a lot of writing courses.

Even if you only want to write science fiction, you should also read mysteries, poetry, mainstream literature, history, biography, philosophy, and science.