"Society" doesn't figure anything out. If "Society" wanted people to go to college then it would it give it to everybody for free.

People are incentivized to act one way or the other. Less-wealthy people cannot afford college tuition, and the government cannot mandate that banks give away money to extremely risky but ambitious people.

This same problem exists with extending loans in general to risky, low-income individuals. Yes their rates are insanely high, bordering on predatory, but they also have sky high default rates so the alternative is they simply cannot get a loan at all.

This is essential economics.