> Based on last year's acceptance rate of ~3% and the expected lifetime earnings of ~$3,000,000, then the price you should pay for that lotto ticket should be

> Based on last year's acceptance rate of ~3% and the expected lifetime earnings of ~$3,000,000, then the price you should pay for that lotto ticket should be $89,800. It's not the lifetime earnings from a Harvard education that are relevant, it's the increase of lifetime earnings at Harvard relative to a school one is effectively guaranteed to get into (say your state school that uses objective criteria). That number is pretty difficult to evaluate, but I'm confident it is well under $1M. > . Now, compare that to the actual price of ~$75 for an application fee. Even a flimsy application to Harvard is totally worth the money. The cost of applying to an additional college is generally in time, not money. The money is just there to discourage low-quality shotgunning.