I think it's more that if one doesn't really think one way or the other then life is very much a conveyor belt, and that belt will typically push you into college. And if you're going to go to college, why not go to the best that you can?

Universities are still very good investments for most people who go to them

In the US the overwhelming majority of people aren't majoring in STEM, and the return for most non-STEM majors is likely negative relative to something like a trade. Even for traditionally well paid cognitive work, LLMs are making the future quite murky. Weird and interesting times we live in. Who knows, maybe the future will make fine arts great again? Personally, I won't be discouraging or encouraging my children to go to college. I'll explain the pros and cons in both directions and leave it up to them.