NYTimes Article
Are Elite Colleges Worth the Cost? basically says, "no" although underprivileged minorities that attend elite universities do wind up significantly better off than their high school peers. On average, two students with similar backgrounds and similar test scores will have similar success after college, but the one that went to a state school will have paid less for it.
I guess
that idiot coworker I used to have had one thing right.
That said, I *LOVE* my womens' college friends and wouldn't trade them for a less expensive education for anything in the world.