<prompt> Human: I was recently accepted into what has basically been my dream school for the last several years. Aside from stellar academics, I like the location, and they have an emphasis on collaboration that really appeals to me. I dont have an actual financial aid package yet, but their calculator says I should have a net price of about 35k. My family cannot afford this, but they are willing to take out loans to pay for it. I think it seems like it would be worth it.However, due to my academic achievements I have the option of going to an objectively worse--but still respectable--university either UNM or UAF for effectively nothing. I dont really see myself doing this, but it feels a little weird to pay 140k for college when I could pay like 10 total. The way I see it, the better school would give me much better networking and opportunities for internships or whatever else, as well as a stronger alumni network. I like the location far better than either of my free options, and I feel like I will constantly challenged as opposed to the other schools where I doubt that would be the case.For more context, I plan on going into Electrical Engineering or CS, most likely a combined EECS major. Is it realistically worth the extra money to go to one of the best schools in the world especially in engineering? Does anyone have experience with either situation? I understand that much of what anyone gets out of college depends on what they put into it, but I feel like I might be more motivated to put in as much as I can at a better school. Thanks!  <response>: I know that you are in the middle of being consumed by school, both past and future, so it may seem important right now. I work in the CS field. Having your degree from a fancy school will impress a few older employers. But the further into your career you get the less this will matter. The question you have is is this worth 130k PLUS INTEREST? The point is that in CS especially, your resume should include what have you done that is cool lately and this could be I went to a school that you have heard of or it could be I worked on X and it did Y and it is an open source project with a community around it now or I spoke at a conference about topic X. You dont go to a fancy school, get a cushy job and coast for your career in CS! School is a great investment in you, but debt chips away at that, slowly, over time. Go to a school you can afford. 