It’s not strictly true in all cases but generally it seems that free or subsidized higher education results in rationing and lower accessibility (which is not really such a bad thing if other options like trade schools etc. are available).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tertiar...
US policy has specific features that have resulted in many people of limited means pursuing degrees that confer no professional qualification at all.
I used the gpt research feature to explore that so maybe take it with a grain of salt but I think it's not too bad:
> In short, Americans attend college in greater numbers partly because they feel they must (to secure good jobs), whereas many Germans do not feel they need a university degree to have a good career, thanks to the established apprenticeship system and different employer expectations.
https://chatgpt.com/share/680c8d76-d6a8-8010-a4cd-48155198f9...
This matches my own experience as a german citizen, that german "Ausbildung" is a very valid and accepted option. Maybe university enrollment or tertiary education on its own isn't drawing the full picture? Worth to think about