<p>Mensa160, “You get what you pay for” is not always true. Or, put it this way: it’s often true when comparing items from the low to the middle end of the range but not true nearly so often though it still may be true in comparing items from the middle to the top of the range. I don’t care whether it’s jeans, shirts, cars, stereo equipment, housing…and from this list I suspect it would apply to colleges as well. There are mediocre but expensive LAC’s that I wouldn’t take for an instant over a good state school. </p>
<p>Chocoholic’s D having to choose between Chicago for $170K and Rutgers for $0 is excruciating, imo. Berkeley vs. Chicago is less excruciating but still uncomfortable…all imo. (Okay, we all have our biases and Chicago is very high on my list of universities for the right student…hard to give up something valued so highly as Top 5 on one’s own scorecard.)</p>