I have 2 daughters at a public US university.
There is tons of pedestrian traffic, and plenty of busses. Some students have cars, but parking is very limited. My daughters walk everywhere, or get a bus. Some kids use bikes or scooters.
No doubt especially that part varies, but I checked Google Maps for the university I walked through. There's a half-hourly bus on one side of the campus, and a bus every 45 minutes on the other side. There are several enormous parking garages.
Universities in similarly-sized European cities have at least a metro station, if not two, and many more bus lines.
Are you talking about public transit connections to the university? That’s a valid, but general complaint about American mass transit and car culture.
But almost every university I’ve been to is closed off from cars and walkable. Students walk on campus to get everywhere. Most students don’t own cars.
