The purpose of high school/college systems is not to teach you how to be successful or financially responsible. Its to groom you into accepting the educational system as your path to success. The truth is about 90% of careers in the US dont require a degree.

Over the past few decades the general mindset behind having a degree changed from the importance being placed not on the piece of paper itself, but rather the actual knowledge gained from the courses completed on the way to accomplishing the degree. Most people who attended college decades ago did so particularly in pursuit of STEM fields. Now, slowly over the past several decades the mindset has changed from the former to where just having that "piece of paper" is the important part. As it would supposedly make you more "marketable" and "if you want a good paying job after high school you have to get a degree". However, as I said before, around 90% of careers in the US do not require a degree.

So why would they tell you this? Why encourage you to go to college to get that insanely useful (/s) BA in Management as you close out you high school career? Because college is an institution designed to make money. It's blatantly obvious... Why do you think out of those 120 credit hours you slaved over completing for years only 30-36 of them pertained to your major? As if somehow over the past decade spent in classrooms prior to reaching college wasn't enough to teach you how to write a book report, think critically, or read a history book. The state/fedral government all make money off of you going to college.

So to circle back, school systems will never teach you how to be independent thinking financial savvy people, teachers may try, but the system isn't designed to allow it to happen. They want you to think you need to go spend a bunch of money and waste nearly half a decade having someone else teach you information that is supposed to make you successful. When the reality is unless you are in very specific fields it's entirely not necessary.