Agreed – my own parents felt that way, that they’d spend anything on an Ivy but anything less wasn’t worth spending anything.
I can’t say I think it should be QUITE that black and white, but there is such a thing as value. Would I want to spend 80k more for my child to go to OSU over Perdue (or vice versa)? Probably not. If they got into HYPS and it was their dream school and I had the money? I’d be much more easily persuaded.