I've believed for a long time now that most people would be better off spending a few years in "the real world" before they were admitted to a university. Right

I've believed for a long time now that most people would be better off spending a few years in "the real world" before they were admitted to a university. Right now, for many if not most Americans at least, college is an unsupervised extension of high school. It's treated that way not just by patrons but also their parents and administrators. The requisite maturity just isn't there. Interestingly, historically, there's usually been a war or famine or other hardship that has forced people in their late teens to grow up quickly. Is our society really better on a macro level for the ease that teenagers have now? Additionally, schooling after a few years as an apprentice is extremely helpful in that you have a familiarity and context about the field and can instantly filter the busy work from the useful information. One may also be in better financial condition by that point, making loans less necessary and ultimately saving the student a lot of money. Personally I plan to encourage my children to do something else for a few years before they enter post-secondary education (if they plan to do so at all).