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<p>You seem to be a fairly new poster here so I suppose that you are not aware that your “shocker” isn’t new news at all around here. The trick is first, getting admitted to the “elite” school and second, actually qualifying for enough aid to cost =/< the state school. Your statement: “who needs Harvard when you can go to a state school for a fraction of the price!” i.e. “I didn’t get into Harvard, but I took the cheaper route so haha to you” is rather nasty and unnecessary. Believe it or not, people actually do turn down Harvard for state schools from time to time. Shocker, huh?</p>
<p>The truth is that the name on your diploma matters when applying for your first job, at most and depending on your major, may not matter at all if your gpa is high enough. Taking on unnecessary debt for the sake of prestige is usually short-sighted and not helpful in most cases.</p>