The big point here that is getting dismissed and forgotten is that this student is a pre-med. As a pre-med he does not care where he attend for one reason - Med. School do not care. While name of college may be important for some career path, it is irrelevant for the future MD. Some graduating medical students wonder why they bothered to attend college at Ivy’s and other Elite places that happened to be the most expensive options for them. They wonder why they did not save family resources for Medical School. However, it does not dismiss the fact that the name of the college may as well be of great importance for others.
There is NO general answer here. For some public may be prudent and for others Ivy may be much wiser decision. One fact I do not understand at all is that if one is planning to attend at the public, why bother to apply to Ivy’s. So much resources is wasted right there. My kid skipped them all together, no plans to attend, no reason to apply, she stood strong on her ground, had to withstand all the push from GC.