How many students coming out of 4 years of undergraduate and then a couple years of graduate school, in a private school (if they have to pay with loans), recover that expense seems like a stretch these days.
Crazy system....my older daughter went to a University of NH school and graduated summa cum laude and on to Cornell for graduate work. The Cornell degree got her a job last year in her first interview at a major hospital. Total cost was around $90K. My younger daughter went to a DC area private University and works in DC after interviewing in the spring of 2008 for 4 months, total cost of her education was just shy of $200K. She got a good education but I think the older daughter got a much better deal. Perhaps the situation is changing as more college graduates don't turn their diploma into a high paying job.