<p>Bloomberg.com:</a> Invest</p>
<p>The irony is that in many cases publics end up having the greatest cost advantage for kids from relatively well-off upper middle class families, say those in the $120K to $200K income range where need-based financial aid at the elite privates is limited or non-existent, yet the full sticker price of $50K+/year is a heck of a nut to come up with. Above $200K or $250K it probably becomes easier to squeeze out $50K from discretionary income. But a lot of families in the $120K to $200K range have seen their retirement savings, home equity, and after-tax investment portfolios shrink dramatically, and taking on college loans or dipping further into their dwindling savings in uncertain economic times is downright scary. So we may see a bit of an inversion from historic trends as kids from low- and moderate-income families are drawn to the elite privates by fancy FA packages, while upper middle class kids flee to publics as "financial safeties."</p>
<p>I just spoke to a friend and he told me that his son is going to the local State U (2-year school) and then will be transferring to the State U (4-year and residency). This guy is quite well off and extremely bright and well-traveled. It was a bit of a surprise that he's going this route. Makes perfect financial sense though.</p>
<p>I can offer perspective from PSU - which has a good honors college...although the scholarships are not very generous (the specific schools - like Science or Eng supplement in many cases).
Now PSU is not at the level of a UNC or Berkeley, but they do manage to attract quiite a few top students. Our experience though is that they are NOT turning down Yale and Princeton. But they ARE turning down places like Cornell, Duke and Johns Hopkins - perhaps because the generous aid packages haven't trickled down to these schools yet.<br>
Agree with bclintonk though - public school prices look pretty good when the option is a full price tag at a private.</p>
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The Ivy League consists of Columbia and seven other elite colleges in the northeastern U.S.
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<p>No doubt Columbia likes that description.</p>