Part of that is by design.
It came about when teachers became "educators" and schools and colleges became more of a business, focused on cash flow, and less focused on what is best and most appropriate for individual students.
To some extent students are now nothing more than consumers of the "product" churned out by schools and colleges.
The NEA and "professional educators" at all levels did everything possible to kill the Vocational/Technical school alternative because they wanted to channel all the state and federal money to themselves. They want students to "buy" their product as opposed to seeking alternatives.
One of the things they had to do to accomplish this was convince government, parents and potential students that every student, no matter how qualified or capable, has a "right" to attend college.
They also had to convince them that college prepared students to step right into a well paying career position as opposed to receiving a broad education.
Of course creating racial resentment and racial pandering is an important part of their strategy to boost headcount and cash flow.
And they have been quite successful as wittnessed by the fact that a huge number of functionally illiterate students graduate from high school and go on to college although not really qualified to do so.
A generation or two ago many of these students would have been encouraged to learn a trade through apprentice programs, OJT or Vo-Tech school - now they are rushed into college.
Vo-Tech is regarded by many in this country as a place to send the dummies! Why? Is there something wrong with an aptitude for working with your hands? All the mechanics, carpenters, electricians and plumbers I know are pretty damn intelligent. All are entrepreneurs.
I agree with you that colleges fought hard and won the post-war battle for bodies and wallets by creating the impression that a bachelor's degree was indispensible for having a shot at a middle-class lifestyle. However, college is not for everyone . . . and there should not be any shame in that!
Your entire post was spot on and the excerpt above is an absolute nugget of wisdom. More parents would save themselves a ton of money if they could just wrap their mind around this concept. I place myself in this category after sending two kids to college and taking on significant loans to make it happen. I now highly question my thinking when I placed myself in that trap. It didn't have anything to do with the kids not having the brain power but it was more about the maturity factor.