College makes sense for some, but you are right- college is sold as the way to go if you want to be successful. I have a daughter in college who is aiming for medical school and has the ability to do that, so we were okay guiding her down that path. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with going another way. I did not even start college until I was close to 30 and I never starved and I never lived in my parent's basement either
The college experience is a great one (so I've been told- at 30 with a mortgage, child, etc. I never got got it) but it isn't worth 100k.
And to give an "insider" perspective on this, Colleges and Universities, especially public ones, are under enormous pressure to grow enrollments, or at least keep them steady. They've built a funding baseline over the years based on the idea you mentioned: your life won't be an economic success without a degree. Now the cat is coming out of the bag, so to speak, and enrollments are dropping, the pressure is kept up to dumb down curriculae, matriculate students, etc. so they can sell undecided students on "success." It's a strange thing to watch unfold.