I would string my daughter up by her toenails if she declared that she was staying in our town to go to college. The main reason being, I think that you should have to 'get away' some to truly experience living on your own and experiencing new environments. (I say that as someone who only travelled 30 minutes "away" to school).
My current city has several private high schools that can run upwards of $20K per year. The academics are truly outstanding, so I can see where it could be somewhat of an investment. Graduates of those schools consistently go on to succeed at the nation's highest rated universities.
However, I am shocked at how many families pay that tuition, only to have their children stay in town and attend the local branch of the state's university system. While the state flagship university isn't exactly on par with UVA, Michigan or Texas, it is still much better than the branch one here, which is consistently rated the lowest university in the system. I absolutely do not get the mentality behind that, but then again, I live in a town where when someone asks "Where did you go to school?" they don't mean college.
