Hard to justify a mercedes over a perfectly fine toyota. Sometimes a luxury item is better, holds its value and lasts longer.
I have plenty of middle class frat brothers at Syracuse who were arts and sciences and went to SU and were better for it b/c of the networking at the school and the tail of interest people have in SU when you get into the work force (a byproduct of networking).
My wife went to Umass grad school and she saw the dff btw SU undergrad and Umass in terms of facilities, vibe of school and overall happiness.
I'm a believer in going to the best college possible. The IRR for being happy and paying alot pays off ultimately IMO. I mean i could have gone to Massasoit Community College, be much richer financially (not spending money on my education), and alot poorer as a total person holistically speaking