| Marite - I agree with you regarding the unknowns post-grad. This is probably the biggest factor. Your point about the additional cost due to coast to coast transportation is a good one, especially with air travel going up. Assuming 2-3 trips per year it adds up.
I also agree that one doesn't need to go to an Ivy for good job prospects and that an Ivy degree is no guarantee. OTOH it doesn't hurt either.
I do think that 'value' needs to be placed on someone's 'wants'. Plenty of students attend colleges other than Brown and have great experiences and fine job prospects. But plenty of families and students, probably many of them on CC, seem to place enough value on their choice to enter a certain amount of debt for it. Unfortunately that debt might be too intangible up front only to come back and be all too tangible later when they have to pay it back but it's really a very individual decision as to the sacrifices they're willing to make to attend a particular college. |