I've seen a couple comments mention it, but the Ivies offer incredible needs based aid. I come from a solidly upper middle class family and my brother is atten

I've seen a couple comments mention it, but the Ivies offer incredible needs based aid. I come from a solidly upper middle class family and my brother is attending an Ivy for less than $10k out of pocket a year. This has really benefitted him as he can get a degree that he wants to without having to worry about the burdens of student loans. No other school he got into afforded him that opportunity- good state schools would have cost more. There are a lot of caveats: we might be lucky to be in the exact income bracket for cheap tuition (although I do want to stress, the income bracket is fairly high), this financial aid could change at any point, the campus does feel excessive at times. But this opportunity has been the biggest positive influence on his life, and produced a well rounded man who was able to explore his interests . WAI from my perspective