Too many students borrow in ignorance, regret at their leisure.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/many-students-dont-know-what-theyre-paying-or-borrowing-for-college/90963?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

Meanwhile, many experts are asking whether a college education, financed by loans, remains a worthy investment.  In other words, will these borrowers every realize a real return on their investments?  Or should they become plumbers and carpenters instead?

The advice I have occasionally given to law school applicants might very well apply across the board:  If you can get into an Ivy or another of the top-ranked universities, go for it, whatever the cost.  But if you have to choose between comparably mediocre schools, one public and cheap, the other private and expensive, go for the cheap one.  At the end of the day the outcome will be the same, except you won't owe as much money.