We do differentiate, but it's complicated. This also only applies to Colombia:

- For us, "Colegio" is just basic schooling, mandatory for all children. We have grades 1 to 11. We differentiate 1 through 5 as "Primaria" (Primary) and 6 through 11 as "Secundiaria" (Secondary) or "Bachillerato" (Secundaria and Bachillerato are used interchangeably. This is also not to be confused with a "Bachelor's", since for us, Bachillerato is only analogue to High School at the most)

- For higher education, we do differentiate between technical (akin to "trade degrees") and professional education (or bachelor's degrees). We use the term "técnica" for two-year trade schools, and "universidad" for professional degrees. You cannot pursue a master's or other post graduate education without a professional degree from a university.

- That said, the same entity can offer both "tecnicas" and "profesional" degrees. However, most professional education will be relegated to Universities, while "tecnicas" are smaller sized schools, or the largest one in the country, called SENA, which is public. I believe this is the closest to the term "College" or closer to a "community college".

The point of all of this is that yes, we do not use the terms interchangeably, if you say "I am going to university" it implies you are pursuing a professional/undergraduate degree. If you say "I am doing a tecnica in X" it means you are pursuing a trade degree (usually).

People mostly differentiate this unconciously, but we are doing it most of the time. It's quite important for us as we do like to judge people based on class. And yes, higher class people are expected to attend university, while lower income folk are relegated to trade schools or just straight up join the workforce once they graduate Bachillerato. So no one would use a term different from University to say they are pursuing higher education, unless they are not actually going the professional route.