If as a result of my acquisition of a college degree I follow a healthy lifestyle, I am, in a sense, reducing health insurance costs, not just for me, but for society.
If I gain a skill set from my higher education that ensures me a higher probability of being employed and thus have less need for public assistance, society in general is better off.
Higher education is a consumption good with benefits, not only to the consumer but society as a whole and, perhaps more importantly for the individual consumer, it's an investment with a great rate of return.