<p>It depends on how much debt.</p>
<p>Top-tier colleges do offer opportunities that other universities don’t or can’t. Sometimes the co-curricular options like studying abroad, extern/internships, and exchange programs are better - because of their reputations they can attract more beneficial liaisons with other schools and employers. Recruiting may be better - Wall Street firms and top firms in other fields may be lined up to recruit Harvard and Amherst students but not so much at the state flagship. Top schools attract top scholars as professors, so the professors may be better-versed in their fields and dedicated to research and scholarship and (in the case of teaching-focused schools) very passionate about teaching. Libraries are often better, and on-campus facilities may surpass those of the local public.</p>
<p>However, you have to weigh those against the costs of debt. Over about $30-50K in total debt is too much for undergrad, period. And even when weighting smaller amounts, one must consider the comparison. I would say it would be worth it to pay a little more to go to Carnegie Mellon over Rutgers, especially in technical/computer science related fields. But Rutgers is a good public university with a lot of opportunities and good name recognition, so unless it’s affordable to your family to send you somewhere significantly better, it’s probably your best option.</p>
<p>I disagree that the guy from CMU automatically gives a better first impression than the kid from Rutgers. It really depends on the person reading the application and other factors. Yes, in certain fields (technical and CS) CMU will warrant a closer look. But what will be far more important is the experiences you have. Someone who expects the name of their school to speak for them and doesn’t take advantage of their opportunities won’t be competitive against someone who takes advantage of any opportunities presented and seeks out more, even if the second person went to a theoretically less prestigious institution.</p>