Having been a student at a university that is only strong in a few areas and weak in several I can tell you for a fact that there are a large proportion of students who do go simply because they have no real idea of what they wish to do next, so they meander through on a course that sounds reasonable getting drunk, doing the minimum of work and leaving with a 3rd class degree or 2:2 that means essentially nothing.
Your 99% view is almost certainly true of the subjects which do have a need for a degree, such as nursing, medicine, engineering, law, mathematics and the sciences. But degrees in 'media,' 'performaing arts,' and 'travel and tourism' have no real weight or relevance beyond their more recognised universities. Yet many people take them and wonder why their 3rd Class Degree in Dance from Aston University cannot get them any work beyond burger flipping and light admin.
I wish you luck at uni, and trust from your comments that you will work hard and fullfill your goals. I appreciate Stu is heavy handed and somewhat clumsy in his views but he does have a valid point beneath it all, the university system is far too big, far too swelled and achieves less then a well applied apprenticeship and vocational system would deliver in 70 odd percent of cases. I am sure the experiences you gain will help you to be less nieve.