As with many non-trivial questions, the answer is probably, "It depends."

I invite you to explore different aspects of the question, from whatever perspective you prefer. There are many aspects to consider, only one of which is money.

Inspired by:

http://nymag.com/news/features/colle...1-5/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/ed...lege.html?_r=2


The above links are of course about college in the US, and so there is a natural focus on money. The first article briefly touches on some other things, like what path you can take in today's world (eg. things to do before college) or what the most important points are of going to college (eg. learning to talk to girls ).