To me (limited viewpoint I realize) the answer in 2020 is "it depends" - which is what I believe you're saying.

My oldest is a musician. He was an indifferent student at best and has learned what he needs from others who are working in the field. (Or at least, he has access to the information - IMHO he needs to utilize his contacts a bit better - but I digress :)

My youngest will go to college - he's already fluent in Mandarin and will graduate HS with 4 years of international business under his belt and bi-lingual certification.

To the surprise of absolutely no-one - except perhaps their parents, they are very different.

I spent 4 miserable, but necessary years 1400 miles away at a liberal arts school receiving an absolutely useless degree. However - I needed the experience of living away from home and college provided a relatively secure location to gain the experience and confidence needed. Would that be worth $100k or more in 2020? Hell no - which is a whole 'nother rant about higher education.

For a certain generation - a college education was almost a guarantee of future economic success. As you've pointed out - the rules of the game have changed, although our colleges and Universities are still marketing the hell out of the "benefits" for everyone to drop a small/large fortune on a slip of paper that is not the golden ticket it used to be.