There is a disparity here that has not been discussed (as far as I have seen). Earlier posts make points about graduation rates. Schools that admit more competitive students are going to have higher graduation rates, regardless of their reputation. You are admitting young people who know what it takes to achieve - for better or worse.
If you were to admit the 2016 Harvard class to Univ of Virginia, I would bet money that graduation rates for the state school would rise to their Ivy alternative.
I always find when I’m hiring that the most sensible people from a business perspective are the ones that manage to graduate from a relatively well-known (albeit non-Ivy) school with $5k in student debt than someone from Harvard who has to juggle $1000/mo. loan payments. Go to a school that has a culture you love, maybe a professor who does some wacky research you find fascinating – the rest will fall into place. I wish I could emphasize this to parents/students enough.
http://www.amazon.com/Where-You-Not-Who-Youll/dp/1455532703 does a great job of getting to this point. After you get 10 years of experience at a job, the only advantage you will have for graduating from an Ivy League is the alumni connection. Having said that, I have never had a problem and attended nothing but state schools for my undergrad, master’s or doctorate finding career mentors that I could reach out to once I found the site within the alumni website. 