(1) If you think what you wrote sounds sarcastic, you don't understand sarcasm either.
(2) Agreed. Which is exactly why these various Ivy League brands need to be concerned about their appearance. Maybe if they didn't cost $100k per year and up, they would not be under such scrutiny.
(3) I reckon if you can qualify for any significant discounted admission at an Ivy League school, you can get a full scholarship and/or awesome financial aid at a number of excellent state schools. So the value isn't in it for poor kids. As for rich kids, well, just because they have the money doesn't mean they want to waste it on a school that is just not worth it. I'm sure these schools' reputations aren't quite bad enough to discourage the rich from going, but let's see how bad they let it get.
(2) For those of us who work for a living, brand matters. That's not my choice, it's the real world.
(3) It's not a "waste of money" if it costs much less than going to a state school, which it does for most poor and middle-class people.