The thing is SalmonGod, even if it is not rare any more, and no longer a guaranty of a great job, it is still needed. I mean, if a college diploma is now a days worth what a high school diploma was worth, that does not mean you can get away with a high school diploma now, because high school diplomas have devalued as well.
Now admittedly, you do not need a college diploma today, much like you did not need a high school diploma back then. You can certainly get a good career without it. But it is hard to do so, and life is much harder without it.
I'm not convinced anymore. Yes, it's an almost requirement to keep yourself standing on a straight and narrow path that is constantly shrinking while also becoming more and more crowded. People are falling off the sides every day, and you have no chance of hanging on without a degree.
On the other hand, that straight and narrow is not all there is, and it's harder and harder to justify the incredible sacrifices one must undergo in order to live on it.
Also, yes you do get out of it what you put into it, but that goes for absolutely anything. You can work your ass off at school with robot-like levels of single-minded dedication, making sure that you do exactly all the right things to lead into a job, and you will probably guarantee yourself success in doing so... but you would probably guarantee yourself success with such behavior no matter what, even outside of school. Hell, anybody who knows exactly what they want to do, exactly what steps to take, and dedicates themselves to that can probably succeed at most things even without a higher education.
And... internships?... I wish I'd had the opportunity. There was this one massive success story in my graduating class. This guy got hired as a technical director at Pixar immediately after graduation. Everybody I've mentioned him to also hates his guts because he stole internships right out from under their noses by offering to do more work for no pay. The guy had absolutely no obstacles to deal with. His parents paid his way through and he had no responsibilities other than school. By the time I knew what I wanted to do and was far enough along in that program, I needed to work full time. There was no way in hell I could have basically worked another job for no pay. Internships just aren't realistic for a lot of people.