Caring parents do things because they love their kids and want to protect them from every hardship. No matter it’s giving up sleep for middle of the night milk feedings for infants or working/saving to pay tuition for young adults, parenting is driven by love and devotion and by nature requires sacrifices.
It shouldn’t make kids feel guilty, it should make them feel proud, loved and grateful. Some parents may be manipulative or controlling and try to use money to control but that kind would do it even if they didn’t make any sacrifices. You see parents who make poor choices, doesn’t do right by their children and still manage to manipulate and guilt them. It has nothing to do with making sacrifices. It’s about human flaws.
Unless parents are exceptionally wealthy, it’s a huge thing to pay for colleges. An average parent would rather use it for their own needs, wants and future and most does. It is borderline stupidity for middle class parents to do this but it’s mostly done out of love.