I can't say much about the general aviation aspect of your post (although I do think it is exaggerated), but a university student certainly does not graduate with only 150 hrs:
Students will attain a minimum of Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) with a Multi Engine Command Instrument Rating and a Air Transport Pilots Licence (frozen) on completion of the degree with advanced options available including Instructor Rating, Multi Crew course or a research project.
Students complete their training during block release from the academic program and will accrue up to 240 hours of actual and 60 hours of simulator-based flying.
Source:
University of New South Wales - School of Aviation - Undergraduate Information
But the thing is, the majority of people here who are advocating for the attainment of a university degree aren't saying that it's for the application process per se, but rather it provides a suitable backup plan should something happen.
Whether this is through a B Aviation (Flying) and a Masters in another discipline, or a degree in a completely unrelated discipline, I wouldn't say that a degree is
only then useful if you are going head to head with a pilot fresh out of flying school with no degree (emphasis added).
There are clearly many other benefits of higher education.