I'm old. I live in a country that until fairly recently universally funded tertiary education. (What Americans call college, most other places call university, but we can all accept it as tertiary education, I believe.)

I was 28 when I started my degree, but it was "state funded", both university fees and a maintenance allowance were paid. I had a mortgage and a car, so I had to work during the summer to make ends meet, but without the mortgage it would have been decent subsistence living. Regular students survived, many did part time work improve their lot.

This was a great and workable system. It pretty much leveled the playing field and allowed anyone who wanted to go to university to do so, if they satisfied the requirements of the university.

I maintain that it is a fundamental right that anyone who so desires, and who meets the requirements of the university, should be state-funded through their first degree (not failed years, of course).

It is hugely beneficial to everyone in a nation state to have the most educated workforce it can afford and support.

You cannot over-educate a nation.