As opposed to what? People just showing up to interviews unannounced?

> or equate a university degree with ability to program computers?

Most of the really successful tech companies are doing this to a small degree. You're at a pretty big advantage if you try to get an early internship at FAANG if you went to Harvard or Stanford or whatnot - and you probably should be (and this is coming from someone who believes strongly those universities are mostly a waste).

The unis already did the hard work of sifting through students to find ones who are willing to work 100x more than necessary just to get into a slightly better school. If you're FAANG, that's sort of who you want to hire for a tech internship, and eventually take advantage of with an underpaying salary for namebrand recognition upon graduation.