It is only strange because you don't understand the situation. In most developed countries, university education is "free" for a select group that test highly or get good grades. It is not true that 100% of the population is offered free college education, usually 10%-30% of students are given this opportunity, based on their academic performance.
That is also the case in the US, when a comparable share of the student body is offered scholarships (~1/3 of students)-- that's what happened to me, I never paid a penny.
What we are talking about here is those who would never be eligible for a university education in "most developed countries" being able to buy their way into the classroom in the U.S. Others are able to get scholarships to a local university but prefer to buy their way into a more prestigious or desirable university. For example, many are offered tuition wavers to a local community college but prefer to pay to enter a different institution. Or they are offered a tuition waiver for a local university but prefer to go to a more expensive private university, etc. There is a whole chain of selectivity.
Whether or not this is a good idea remains to be seen. More and more, people are coming to the conclusion that the cost isn't worth it.
There is a second issue about whether American universities are actually good (from the point of view of the student) compared to the rest of the world, or whether they are good (from the point of view of select faculty) because they have such huge budgets. Here, too, the situation is mixed (and deteriorating).
I think “most” is a bit of a stretch. Even in countries where education is free, or close to free, students still need some means to support their daily living costs. So that means loans or part time work. Having all of that handed to you doesn’t feel like it promotes the idea that university is an investment you’re making in your future. And otherwise I’m not that supportive of “free” higher education. I certainly agree it shouldn’t be cripplingly expensive, but the last few decades have demonstrated that shifting more and more young people onto the higher ed track just devalues a degree for everyone, stigmatises those who choose a different path, and raises costs for everyone. I also strongly disagree with the idea that having some/many diplomas automatically makes one “smarter”. That’s just a normalisation of credentialism, in my opinion
That is also the case in the US, when a comparable share of the student body is offered scholarships (~1/3 of students)-- that's what happened to me, I never paid a penny.
What we are talking about here is those who would never be eligible for a university education in "most developed countries" being able to buy their way into the classroom in the U.S. Others are able to get scholarships to a local university but prefer to buy their way into a more prestigious or desirable university. For example, many are offered tuition wavers to a local community college but prefer to pay to enter a different institution. Or they are offered a tuition waiver for a local university but prefer to go to a more expensive private university, etc. There is a whole chain of selectivity.
Whether or not this is a good idea remains to be seen. More and more, people are coming to the conclusion that the cost isn't worth it.
There is a second issue about whether American universities are actually good (from the point of view of the student) compared to the rest of the world, or whether they are good (from the point of view of select faculty) because they have such huge budgets. Here, too, the situation is mixed (and deteriorating).