This thread has wandered around the essential question, is a prestigious 4 year $200,000 (or more) film school degree worthwhile/useful for a career in the film industry. The other side of the spectrum has been to save your money and just work your way up in the industry, there are lots of entry positions that require little education to get your foot in the door, and your success is built on your performance and network of contacts. That is over simplified, there is a large continuum of experiences between walking onto a set and going to USC, and it is tough to find the right fit. My advice is to spend some serious time researching your options, and CC threads have some great advice.
This is experience with my D, who has known since she was ten that she wanted to make movies. She visited a variety of schools, including Brooks institute and New York Film Academy, Montana State, Cal Arts, LMU and USC. As good an academic student as she was, she strongly considered them (and Full Sail) because they seemed very direct to what she thought she wanted. Interestingly, the advisor at New York Film Academy steered her away from going there and told her she would be better served at a mainstream university. Don’t tell his boss. I think his reasoning was along these lines: it is a tough field, and if you don’t make it in film (lots of talented people don’t, just like music performance) at least your bachelors degree from a real school opens up lots of other well paying job opportunities.
Digmedia has given a lot of good advice in this forum, especially that your worst enemy is large debt if you plan a film career. I have no doubt that a film degree from any of the top 25 schools gives you an enormous advantage, but if you are in major debt you can’t afford to pay your dues for those first years of scrambling for work.
In reality, your chance of having a career in film is most dependent on talent, dedication, willingness to work hard for long hours, and your contacts. Without these you will fail, even if you went to USC or NYU. With them, you will succeed even if you went to Full Sail, Colorado Film School, or University of Wisconsin-River Falls.