I’m American and I don’t really understand where you are coming from. Except for some of the elite universities I don’t think the main reason is networking.
My college experience was at a regular school learning and gaining experience through work. No debt, no loans, and state scholarship that paid 100% tuition if I went to a public school in my state. The scholarship required a 3.0 in high school and thereafter. Most of my high school friends who went to college did a similar thing.
Sure some went to Ivy League or other expensive networking type schools but it was the exception.
My college experience was at a regular school learning and gaining experience through work. No debt, no loans, and state scholarship that paid 100% tuition if I went to a public school in my state. The scholarship required a 3.0 in high school and thereafter. Most of my high school friends who went to college did a similar thing.
Sure some went to Ivy League or other expensive networking type schools but it was the exception.