Tuition rates don't reflect the cost or even the value of the education, in many senses of the word "value", but rather they have a strategic aspect to them whi

Tuition rates don't reflect the cost or even the value of the education, in many senses of the word "value", but rather they have a strategic aspect to them which justifies the high rates. Tuition rates are essentially "costly signals". Those who have a degree are so sure of themselves, and had other people believing in them so strongly, that they were able to finance even the highest cost. This system both guarantees the elite students go to elite schools and that employers can sort applicants by school and degree. Problem is, this kind of equilibrium in the modern economical world tends to blow up in the faces of the "players" at some point.