I don’t think “not bat an eye” is entirely accurate.
We were full pay. We knew we were full pay. There was a long and robust list of schools suggested by the guidance counselor that we vetoed- not paying full freight for a private college when there were public alternatives (both our own state flagship and a neighboring one) that had equal or better resources, academic rigor, etc. And a shorter list of schools we felt were “worth it”. We predicted that we’d pay more, kid would “get more”. And that seemed worth it.
But our tiers were based on academic rigor, intellectual prowess, resources available to undergrads, etc. and not sticker price which is a slippery concept.