Also, most people, given the opportunity would rather their kids go to the Ivy League school over State U., in part for the experience, in large part for the networking and whom they meet, and in large part because for the rest of their lives they have a leg up on employment and advancement because of that exclusive-school seal of approval.
You may measure education on a purely dollars-in and dollars-out basis, but many don’t.
Where did I say that?
I happily paid full boat MSRP tuition and expenses for my kid's "elite" college education and that was to major in something that's close to useless in the real world job market.
I've said that I think that third-tier private colleges are overpriced. Harvard/Yale/Princeton are probably worth the asking price and the remaining ivys and other "elite" colleges might or might not be worth the cost, depending. Your mileage may vary.
If the median net median family net worth of ages age 45 to 54 is $117,900, I doubt that most parents are paying $250,000 in cash for their kids' college educations. But there do seem to be way too many graduates and their families left with with mountains of educational debt and no easy way to pay it off.