Piling up debt is a good thing, I heard countries need to have debts to flourish.
When I finish studying I'll have a pile of debt as well but since I plan to become rich that isn't really a problem, but it's true that universities are so not elite anymore, that's why we designate elite unis here now.
Well it's the promise that with capitalism all the living standards will be raised so everybody thinks "hey, I can get a good white collar job" and goes to university. Of course the result is that employers choose only the best students and the rest will have to go for lower jobs in which they lock out the less educated who will have to go for the really "bad" jobs then, high unemployment then assures that it all gets worse, at least here.
Maybe a society where evwerybody is a white collar middle class guy doesn't really work because there will be no one to clean the toilets or carry away the waste.