> Then, instead of getting treated like the adult you are legally, you get infantilized.

The parents, who are often the ones paying at these big universities, want this. They want their newly adult children to be treated like, and cared for as, actual children for as long as they can manage.

This attitude is due to deeply rooted issues with the way American adults view their children, and the way they view our society as inherently dangerous. The result is that we have people in their mid-20's and even 30's who are genuinely incapable of managing their own lives or thinking for themselves. And I don't just mean the ones who moved back in with Mom and Dad at 28. They are an extreme, though not uncommon, example.