I think that going to University these days is such a different experience from 30 or 40 years ago that it's difficult to make a comparision.
The first major difference is that when us 40-somethings went to University, it was actually really difficult to get it. I believe about 5% of the population went to University when I attended (more went to Poly's or Colleges of H.E., but the actual University status was much more rare). Therefore, if you got the grades to go, it would have been pretty unusual not to. Secondly, going to University was for most of us the big step towards independence - going out when we chose/where we chose, having boyfriends back (!) etc... these days, young people experience greater freedom from about 16 or so, so they don't need to escape from home to experience it. Thirdly, I loved my 3 years of being able to immerse myself totally in a subject I was passionate about. There wasn't the pressure of loans, debts etc. Having said that, we all lived very simply, on lentils etc, no one I knew had a car, and you'd have been laughed at if you wore designer clothes - second hand baggy jumpers were the thing. A night out was cheap beer in the Student Union. It just isn't like that these days. There's far more pressure to 'have things', to have a car, new clothes, nights out clubbing etc, and I just honestly don't believe 18 year olds these days are going to get the experience we had back then. If they are intending to enter a certain profession, then Uni is necessary, but tbh I think it's not relevant for a lot of people.