<p>Ok..we all know some brands cost much more than others, but are no different..all marketing. I know this might be controversial..but, I would like to hear about some high priced privates or LAC that you feel are simply not worth it in comparison to other schools priced the same. ..and what is your reasoning?</p>
<p>geeps...perhaps you will get some replies and perhaps not. I know that <em>I</em> would be very reluctant to criticize any college. The reality is that it might be VERY good for one student, and not so terrific for others.</p>
<p>I'll play: for us (paying full freight) majoring in computer science at Harvard was not worth it compared to Carnegie Mellon. :)</p>
<p>I think the OP inadvertently asked a question the answer to which is way too obvious, and therefore uninteresting. Notwithstanding mathmom's local counterexample, there is a whole raft of universities and colleges whose tuition sticker price is about the same as Harvard's (or Yale's, Princeton's, etc.), and which provide anywhere near the same bang for the buck, even if they are fine institutions in their own right. Most people will conclude, rationally, that apart from a few specialized areas NYU or BU (or insert your favorite here ___________) does not offer equivalent value to Harvard at the same price.</p>
<p>Generally, you have to go pretty far down the mythical prestige scale, or limit yourself to in-state publics, before you find meaningful baseline sticker-price competition, and even that tends to get blurred by financial aid differences. The interesting question isn't whether Harvard offers more value than BU or Vanderbilt, or Amherst than Sarah Lawrence or Bennington. It's whether the $8-10,000 or so difference between those schools and excellent schools like Kalamazoo, St. Olaf, Beloit is enough to make a difference.</p>
<p>Here's a link to a COA ranking for hundreds of colleges and universities: <a href="http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/os_on_total_rank.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/os_on_total_rank.html</a>. It's not too hard to notice some relative bargains and non-bargains. Rice is thousands of dollars below its academic peers. Generally, you seem to pay a premium for the Northeast and California, and to get a discount for the Upper Midwest (except for Chicago and Northwestern).</p>
<p>In hindsight, this was a dumb question. 230 colleges cost between $40-$53k</p>