Here in Scotland, it is not as simple as that. It mostly boils down to money and your social/economic back round. Some of the brightest students have ended up on minimum wage( not necessarily me I am talking about, I am an exception to rules)
I have a friend who went to university and says to me I didn't miss anything and it didn't help her get a good job.
There is no such thing as scholarships. Nursing used to be funded by government so you had no fees to pay, do not know if that still applies. Anyway Scotland is different from England no upfront fees. Great right??
Not that simple. If I had went to university just to please my family, I would have had to get a job so I had money to spend, pay my accommodation, cost of living etc. I would have got a grant but a measly 1200 ish pounds for an entire year. Well and a loan of course which would have covered my digs but then I obviously would be in debt.
I wish I had the attitude back then of "I should live for now" and been confident that I would have landed that dream job. I was jaded at the ripe young age of 15 and I lost focus.

But as your theories go all the "cool" gang from my high school have better jobs than some of the more clever students because they were supported emotionally and financially by their families who were comfortably off.
I was just pissed at everyone before I even reached university. I wanted to study Theology or something useless like philosophy. But coming from a working class background, I had the pressure of doing something "realistic" or tangible. A few years back I even considered nursing. Considering I have been in the psych ward on numerous occasions, it was the worst possible choice someone in my shoes should have considered.
All I have now is my art. If I could reach just one person I would be happy.