College‑for‑All Trap

The dominant cultural and institutional message that a four‑year college is the default route to adulthood can become a policy and labor‑market trap: it funnels diverse students into an expensive, underperforming pathway while starving vocational and employer‑led alternatives of credibility and resources. Fixing this requires rebuilding high‑quality, publicly legible non‑degree routes (apprenticeships, employer training, technical programs) and changing incentives that keep colleges expanding regardless of returns. — Reframing the problem as a 'trap' focuses policy debate on system incentives and on rebuilding credible alternatives, not just on college quality or cost.