Comment Re:Smart People (Score 1) 161
So, sorry -- if you actually get into and graduate from MIT, chances are your debt levels are going to be at the levels of many state university graduates, perhaps lower.
This is doubtful. If only because the caliber of student who is admitted to MIT is likely to receive extremely generous merit-based scholarships at most state schools, and especially at lower-tier state schools. There's at least one AAU member school (Arizona) that offer a free ride (tuition + fees + room + board) to any national merit scholar. When I was applying to colleges (which, admittedly, was 20 years ago), I was offered free rides to the University of Oklahoma and LSU based solely on my SAT Math score. It really depends on which state schools we're talking about (top-tier vs. lower-tier) and the student's household income. In the specific case of a middle-income student (household income = $70k/year) and a top-tier state school then what you've said is likely correct. Despite having a strong resume (evidenced by his being admitted to MIT) that student may not get a full ride at a top-tier state school. So he's relying on financial aid, and MIT's financial aid package for a student whose family earns $70k/year is likely better than the top-tier state school's. As income goes up and/or the quality of state school goes down, though, the equation starts to favor the state school if all we care about is out-of-pocket cost.