But having attended five different colleges for various lengths of time, I've seen first hand the difference between a good college and a bad college. Inasmuch as reputation reflects the reality of the quality of the education, I think that it is worthwhile to attend a school with a top tier reputation rather than one without.

And in fact, I'd gladly take on 50k (or even 100k) each in debt to send my daughters to top ranked schools rather than them accepting a free ride at some of the worse institutions I've been to. I think the added value is certainly worth it.

in fact, most studies show that college isn't financially worth it for most people in the long run (execptions being certain professions where's it's an absolute must).

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... with money fund their "poorer" students well enough.

I went to one of those elite, nearly $30,000/year places for undergrad, and the reality is that at most -- including most of the Ivys -- half the students or more (Harvard says 70%) are getting financial aid. It's not about a rich majority at most of them; only Harvard and Yale still really have that reputation, if any of them do, and even there the majority come from public high schools. One generally doesn't refer to "scholarship" kids anymore, and when I read Donna Tartt's 1992 novel The Secret History it seemed anachronistic (though it took place in the 80s). With few exceptions, academic scholarships (for undergrads) are not offered by these schools. Rather, you either come with a scholarship from outside, or you get financial aid (in the form of a big-ass grant as well as $5,000 or more per year in loans, depending on the Stafford limits, and some work study). My case was pretty standard for a lower-middle-class kid at an expensive school: my parents' contribution was exhausted after the first year. The only debt owed is by me, about $20,000 in Stafford and Perkins loans.

In fact, the wealthier middle class kids had it tougher -- their parents had more assets, but often not liquid (locked up in real estate, for example), so their parental contributions could be $10,000/year or so, whereas I think my dad's total contribution was a few thousand my first year and next to nothing after that.

In short: is it worth it? In the liberal arts? I would say so -- at least if you're going to take advantage of smaller classes and better student/faculty ratios. A private school is no more expensive than an out-of-state state school for many. Princeton, in particular, has re-emphasized undergrad (vs. graduate) education the past two decades and a lot of the smaller liberal arts colleges have no grad programs at all -- meaning all courses are taught by faculty, not by "staff" or teaching assistants.

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"The german quoting guy is a little bit out there." (fleece)
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