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<p>Then Berkeley offers you great value. Most folks, however, are unable to discern “brilliance” from a bright light and thus, just go with rankings. But note, however, it is the academics who have decided that ASU has a great econ program. (source: NRC) Perhaps it is not brilliant in your eyes, but in the eyes of academics it is plenty good. And if one is a resident of Arizona and can attend for free…?</p>
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<p>I have no authority to let you send your kid anywhere. And how you want to spend your money is your decision. I may opine that it is a foolish expenditure, but since it is your money, you can and should ignore my opinion. My comments are mostly targeted towards the 18-year-olds, who have no concept of a dollar.</p>
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<p>Indeed, it is – at the graduate level. But it is not world-class for undergraduate education, IMO, and not worth $55k/yr (with the exception of some programs like engineering & college of chem).</p>
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<p>Dunno a thing about Brown’s econ, but I would point out for the vast majority of people, an Ivy education would be cheaper due to great need-based aid. And of course that gets back to my premise: many with the stats to get accepted into Cal can obtain merit money instate. Now if you are rich person (Obama’s so-called ‘millionaires and billionaires and corporate jet owners’), cost won’t matter to you. But to those in the upper middle class…</p>
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<p>I think few publics are worth the OOS price. UVa offers great need-based aid for OOS’ers.</p>
<p>Again, since you mentioned econ, what is the Net Present Value (NPV) of a free education a non “world-class” college vs. paying $55k for a ‘world-class’ college? How do you value “brilliance”?</p>