No less than the editor of Forbes magazine has authored articles on the diminishing returns of a college education. His justification: For the money, and for most families, the debts incurred, would be more efficiently spent on simply giving the money to the child and letting him or her go into business for him or herself -- even including bad deals and failed ideas.
The internet has the working class experiencing a transition from a privately oriented lifestyle into one in which the basis for economic and political gain is not limited by geographical concerns. Regional or familial connections don't matter anymore. One only has to send a resume, no matter how far the destination. The internet trumps the comforts of home.
Honestly, an Ivy League education is the exception to this hypothesis. Your time spent in an Ivy League school will be most useful for the connections it creates. Put simply, if you know Harvard alums, the online school search, aptitude test you took in elementary school, career assessment, and search for schools all become irrelevant. Ivy League graduates are Masters of the Universe. College is most useful for the alumni directory. If it sucks, just use Craigslist. Ivy League alumni directories don't suck.