Discover University Early Access Q&A

I haven't reached this point in game, but from a Q&A with the SimGuru/Maxis studio we were told that you can join the career at much higher level (past where it branches for branching careers), you get a sizeable starting bonus, higher salary and you accrue vacation days more quickly. You would also get all the normal unlocks and level bonuses for levels you skipped in one fell swoop, like with the Connections reward trait.

Distinguished Degrees give better benefits than regular degrees, but are harder to get onto as they have stricter skill requirements. They also cost more, I believe.

I believe there are also long term benefits from university organisations, but I haven't discovered what they are yet (so far unlocks have been BB/CAS related).