A degree from an expensive private school or out of state school is a luxury item, and parents need to treat them like the Jaguar or Porsche with a comparable value. If your child got their license and asked for a Range Rover, would you plunk down $100,000? Then why on earth would you do it for an undergraduate degree to an expensive school.
If anything, the money should be saved for graduate school, where the big payoff happens. If they can get through undergrad at the instate school (or maybe an out-of-state public school) with the grades and pedigree for grad school, then maybe Duke Law School, or University of Chicago Medical School (or a masters from Stanford in engineering) is a worthwhile financial investment, but never for undergrad.
An undergraduate degree from an elite school helps with networking and gives the student a "brand" that will help with getting all subsequent jobs. Same phenomenon for business school- the curriculum isn't much better but the connections and brand are much better.
That misses the point. Jaguars are better (and more fun) than a Ford Focus. The question is whether the branded school is worth the delta, and the answer is that in most undergrad programs, it isn't. Let's take an example: Steve wants to go to school for Computer Science. He'd really like to go to Duke, but he also gets in at UC Irvine in California. If he's really good, he'll get good grades at UCI, and he can go to Duke for a Masters (maybe on a free ride). If he's only an average student, then he had no business going to Duke because he wouldn't really be able to leverage the high powered degree anyways (a C+ average from Duke isn't opening a ton of doors). Let's change the hypo and make the major French Literature. Now, we know Steve will never be able to repay Duke tuition with that degree, no matter how many influential people he meets or how good his grades are.
The upshot: it's not that Duke isn't better than UCI - it clearly is. The point is, is it a good investment. And it rarely is...unless you have the extra money and can do it without the debt and without limiting your future options. That's what makes it a luxury item.
I disagree. Luxury cars depreciate in value just like any other car. The right school is an investment in future income by way of the people you get connected to as well as what you learn and build a career off of. It's what you make of it, though. It's not an easy road no matter what. Is it worth it? Maybe. Or you could fly to Vegas and put it all on black at roulette, I guess.
If anything, the money should be saved for graduate school, where the big payoff happens. If they can get through undergrad at the instate school (or maybe an out-of-state public school) with the grades and pedigree for grad school, then maybe Duke Law School, or University of Chicago Medical School (or a masters from Stanford in engineering) is a worthwhile financial investment, but never for undergrad.