Note: I'm a university student in the UK, studying a serious technical degree. I'm not sure if this level is equivalent to "college" in the US, I assume so.
In a broad sense, yes. But, there's more to it.
In the US, there are several tiers of colleges...
- Community Colleges: offer 2-year (associates) degrees. Frequently serve as a launching point for entry into a 4-year program (if direct entry wasn't an option due to lackluster performance in high school). Also frequently offer vocational degrees (network and system admin, skilled trades, etc).
- College: Offer 4-year (Bachelors) degrees. Typically do NOT offer post-graduate degrees.
- University: Offer 4-year AND post-graduate (or professional) degrees.
It's not a hard and fast rule - The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA) is one of the best universities in the nation and it's name is basically a historical anomaly.
The majority of colleges in the US are probably equivalent to the UK's polytechnics and other newer universities (vs the UK's ancient universities, which are closer to our Ivy League + a few other select research universities).
Edit - As it relates to this guy's blog, if he attended a top-tier university and found it was a waste of time, he was likely not mature enough to take advantage of its offerings.
Disclaimer: it wasn’t a fancy college, but still.
I just think education needs some sort of revolution