I suppose it depends on what the 'no degree' scenario entails - if it's three years where instead of going to uni and arsing about, you found a job with promotional prospects and worked really hard, then surely that's worth more than a third in media studies? I'm just thinking of industries like hospitality and retail, where a degree (especially in an irrelevant subject) doesn't generally mean as much as a few years of hard graft.
But as others have said, depends on the course/uni as well.