One of the reasons colleges charge so much is because they can. COVID is a crisis right now for them because a bunch of students deferred because the experience isn’t worth it. The experience isn’t worth 50k a year to begin with, and people have been screaming that at the top of their lungs forever.
People keep going for the price because they are not given a choice. If you want a job that pays well you need a college degree. In order to get a college degree you have to go into obscene debt. It’s a feedback loop orchestrated by the wealthy and you’re blaming the victims (like conservatives always do).