I actually will be a sophomore at Princeton next year and would like to respond to this and, really, all of these comments. I'm studying engineering and I had a really hard first year. I worked my ass off the whole year and ended up with a few C's, a lot of B's and no A's. I worked hard to get in and I'm working hard to stay in. I feel as if I get a really good education. And with all of the things I have learned from my professors and all of the intelligent people around me, I admit that networking also makes the experience worth it (I'm interning at NASA as we speak and guess where my boss went to school). Of course people are successful that go to less prestigious schools. Hell, people that don't even go to college are successful. I'm confident that I will be able to pay off this massive debt that comes with my education and that I will never feel as if my education was a waste. After all, I've already learned so much.
It comes accross as ignorant to talk about people wasting their money going to Ivy League schools and claiming that they "goof off". We work hard and deserve just as much respect as anyone else.
I am hampered by not having Ivy League credentials. Employers and professional schools kiss the butts of the never had a job Ivy graduates whose summers consisted of European travel or riding around with friends in their Jeeps.
I had to WORK while at a STATE university. I had to attend an INFERIOR state dental school, also while WORKING. My father would NOT fill out an FAF because it cost $15. TRUST FUNDS ARE GOD to the admissions officers.