This is all so frustrating! None of this seems to take into account cost of living, which is a real game changer in several parts of the country. Garyme—agree with your wife that we should have just spent our money rather than saving it—maybe one of us should quit our jobs too!
I get that Ivy schools are in a special league (pun intended), but even so, it seems the value of a college degree these days is not what it used to be and kids really need a graduate degree to get ahead. So, paying full sticker price for Ivy undergrad when a kid can get significant merit and/or athletic money at a great non-Ivy school does not seem to make a whole lot of economical sense, unless you are made of money.