I feel it largely depends on what you come out of it with. In Canada, university is still typically forced down clueless kid's throats. In 2007 I had to go, like you said, my parents gave no option.

I was lost, I didn't know what I wanted, and I didn't see the path university was taking me be useful. So I stopped going to class and eventually got suspended for a year.

My cousins who worked in the oil patch told me to get into instrumentation. For 2.5 years of college, you get a pretty great paying job and not labour intensive. Some of the best paying jobs in Canada are trades, but they get snubbed by higher learning institutions like universities. I had all my debt paid off plus that much saved under the year.