I agree, it would be nice to see such statistics of after-grad employment and average starting salaries + average salaries 10 years out from graduation, and not just for SCA but broken out by each School/major.
However, for creative industries like film and television, the employment picture depends on much more (much more) than the school name on one’s degree. Not every grad (no matter what their college training) is prepared to live the life of a struggling artist, which means unpredictable work, months looking for the next project, working a paying job while finishing that next screenplay or working for peanuts on a fabulous indie film that will be the stepping stone to a real rung in the ladder.
At SCA, the dean told parents of incoming undergrads to expect kids who want to work in film production to take several years to become self-supporting, and to try to consider those years the equivalent of being in grad school, where parents expect not much if any money will be coming in, and they’re support may be very helpful so kid can have the time needed for networking and good luck and their own hard work and talent to let them break into this field. This, of course, would be true no matter what college the student studies filmmaking at, but the path may be easier when coming from USC. This is because entry jobs are rarely advertised. They often go to those with the right connections, and USC does offer an amazing array of opportunities for (go-getting, alert, on the hunt) SCA students to meet and impress those decision makers. All that said, the entry jobs pay very little, hiring rarely happens before the kid graduates (like accounting or computer jobs) and a USC SCA grad gets exactly the same small pay that a CSUN grad might get, or even the a kid who never goes to college at all and gets a jump start at age 18 gets–that is, if they can land that elusive first gig, and if they are so impressive that the supervisors want to hire them again and again on future projects.
Sorry that was so long, but as for your original concerns for your friends and their decision to pay over $200,000 for this fine (the finest!) film school education, in my opinion, it’s a good choice for families who can comfortably afford it. It’s a great choice for kids who get the big merit scholarships or wonderful grant aid (FA). But (IMO!) it would be hard to justify paying that amount of money IF IT IS NOT EASILY AVAILABLE to the family. Going deep into debt could very well, sadly and ironically, kill the new grad’s chances of making it after graduation, since he/she won’t be able to struggle with odd jobs for the first few years in order to get a foothold. Real life bills will often kill their dreams.
All of the above is my take on this question of “is it worth it” after watching 8 years of SCA students (my 2 were among them), and seeing where they landed and what they are doing now (my oldest graduated 4 years ago, my youngest last year). Mine have had startlingly great results in the work world, but their specialties are not film directing or cinematography and their entertainment fields are booming (thank the lord!!).
But to go back to your original concern/question, there is simply no way a parent can know if their fabulous kid is 1) gregarious enough, 2) original out-side-the-box enough, 3) lucky enough, 4) masochistic enough (!), 5) stubborn enough, 6) innovative enough, 7) in the right place at the right time enough to actually make a big career in film. And statistics from SCA about the outcomes of hundreds of kids we don’t know all that critical stuff about, would not tell a parent how their own kid will thrive. This career path is just too quirky and individual. I think affordability (some families do not have to struggle to pay tuition, while for others it would be impossible) and fit are the key components to the best decision. Some creative kids really need a hothouse (this is SCA!) in order to mature up and gain confidence, while others actually are the hardy sort who will bloom whereever they are planted–even in the crack of a sidewalk.
Sorry this was so long!! I’ll end with a positive note. 
There are thousands and thousands and thousands of beautiful homes in Los Angeles, now most of them are priced over 1 million dollars. (!) And so many of them are owned by people who make their living in the entertainment business. What I mean is–there are tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of well-paid artists and executives in this town. The jobs are here and it’s a booming industry. So (what is it Clint Eastwood said to that punk)… do you feel lucky?