As someone who had their first stock based savings account gutted by the 2008 economy we really shouldn't rely on stocks. I was in college and my college fund vanished very quickly. It was a fund set up for me as a kid, managed by my petrodollar worshipping uncle. We're all just a collapse away from nothing while being desperate for line goes up behavior to save us. But this is just my point of view from someone on the poorer side of things.

Your scenario is an example of mismanagement; you were already in college, so those funds should have been moved to less-risky investments (bonds, money-market, or even a savings account).

For retirement, Fidelity and Vanguard offer "Target-date retirement" funds, which automatically rebalance to reduce risk as you age. This is a misnomer, though, as you could easily select one of those funds for college savings or whatnot.