I’d be interested in knowing how many of these are first generation university grads. On the one hand, first generation tend to be more focused on a degree as a means to a better standard of living, but on the other, they have no basis upon which to form expectations, no network of family and family contacts to help guide them. My father was the first to attend college in his family since the Civil War, and I was the first to graduate. It’s very different, knowing now what I didn’t know then. I have no children but my niece will benefit, I’ll make certain of that.
Your post is dead accurate! So much success depends on other things than the right degree. Family and friend networks, for example. I grew up in a working class home and was the second person in my family to attain a college degree. Both my parents and I had no knowledge of how to put that degree to good use. So, in my case, it took a lot longer to get ahead - and a lot of kicks along the way!