Rich white women of a certain age might have been the ones whose parents chose to not send to college over their brothers. Perhaps this goes for rich women of any colour. My mother's (now 68 yo) parents sent her brothers to college, not the girls. My mother got a vocational training, contributed to the brothers college funds, and then finally paid for herself through college. My mother's not white.
I believe that most people have a certain hunger for information and education, and if college wasn't an option, they'd look for these educations elsewhere.