It&#x27;s getting more widespread though. But I&#x27;m from Central Europe, not the US. Nowadays the prestige of university&#x2F;college is becoming similar to the prestige of secondary school some decades ago, i.e. it&#x27;s almost a default requirement for an intellectual (non-physical) job. But while secondary school was finished at the age of about 18, university&#x2F;college adds another ~5 years to that. Also marketing and the general zeitgeist makes people stay like children. I mean, I know people who just kind of drift along with time, beyond the age of 30 and they still feel a bit weird when thinking about themselves as adults.