I feel the "best" schools aren't even THAT great in terms of education. Networking, probably is the main benefit. But I had a friend who went to Harvard. She's a genius, don't get me wrong, but I felt I got a better education than she did at my private, non-Ivy school (which yes is still private vs public but pretty far off from ivy league). My classes had way less people in them and the professors genuinely seemed to care about the students rather than what she would tell me about her own classes/profs.

But again, the networking opportunities are probably what "makes it worth it."