I always assumed university is supposed to change the way you see the world. Keep in mind that it's not just academic experiences that will do that. And I fear there's no one answer for everyone. I learned about Deep Springs College in California much too late in my academic career. It would have been perfect for the me I was when I left high school.

I can't give you any answers, but maybe I can help you flesh out some questions.

How do you want to change the world? Maybe pass laws that make it easier to trade green credits? Or build financial systems that reduce debt pronged in the (so called) third world. Maybe you want to build a machine that sucks CO2 out of the atmosphere efficiently? Or do you want to ponder the inner depths of the psyche and emerge so fundamentally whole the rest of the world has to put down what they're doing and listen to YOUR wisdom.

Find a PERSON who is doing what you want to do (in academia or in the real world) and ask them how they got where they were and what they could have done to make their journey easier. Take the glossy recruitment pamphlets some universities produce with a grain of salt. Unless you're doing specialized science or engineering, it's the instructors that matter more than the facilities.

Maybe learn a skill you can fall back on if all your plans go south.

There's no shame in joining the military for 3 or 4 years if you really don't know what you want to do. But make sure you save the money you earn and don't let them cheat you out your educational benefits. Don't volunteer for anything and stay away from 55 gallon drums of chemicals.

Clear thinking is not all it's cracked up to be. A fuzzy misapprehension may lead to a hidden underlying truth. If something is obvious, ask yourself how the world would have to change so that it appears ridiculous. If something is ridiculous ask yourself how the world would have to change for it to be obvious.

Try to limit college debt.