US society puts huge pressure on people to go to college, and many high schools and public figures tout a college education as a ticket to increased earnings. Many people who would otherwise probably not go to college have no choice if they want to learn a trade or certain types of professions.
I see this as both a weakness in our national perspective on education and an extension of the American brand of capitalism. It may be why bibliophile sees relatives who've never read a book headed for a local community or state college. They have no choice.
What I mean is that lots of skills that aren't taught in "college" elsewhere in the world are taught in community and state colleges in the US. For example, in some European countries, if you want to be a nurse, firefighter, or civilian aircraft mechanic, you'd do an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships involve taking classes and learning on the job. On the job training involves increasing increments of responsibility as you pass classes and gain experience. This is kind of like...college programs in nursing, firefighting, and aircraft mechanics in the US. But European apprentices get paid, as opposed to their US counterparts, who may have to borrow thousands of dollars and work a part-time job to boot. (And no, I don't think this builds character. I think it shuts some people out of higher education altogether, eats up valuable study time and reduces the overall quality of graduates, not to mention forcing people to start their adult lives already in debt.) This is a sad thing.
Okay, I got a bit off the path there. But the overall message is that our society has an expectation that people should go to college. This idea becomes more important as manufacturing jobs continue to move overseas. So, outside of the military, there really aren't a lot of avenues to earning a decent wage outside of the ones that lead to a degree or a certificate.
I suspect that all this may be why a lot of people don't appear to give the decision to go to a local college a lot of thought (as bibliophile has observed in some of her relatives). They probably think a lot about what they want to do, and the next decision is obvious and necessary: stay close to home, live with Mom and Dad or some friends, keep expenses to a minimum.
Just my two cents.
Val
