My parents sent me to a private university in the state of NY and my tuition was roughly 19K a year (1994-1998). Room and board was reasonable because of location (senior year off campus house was 1200 for each semester Aug-Dec and Jan-May)

I would say that I got minimal value out of school. If anything, I learned street smarts over book smarts. Most of the tools I have today are from post collegiate studies. I cant wait to see what some of these schools cost when our daughter is nearing 18. I will be looking to relocate to a state with good state schools that are on the lower end of the tuition scale.