I have some cousins (on the wealthier branch of the family) who were the "middle class" students at a school like that. Their dad was a specialist doctor who made a fair amount of money as an expert witness in trials. They came out of it extremely hungry to reach the socioeconomic class of their peers. One is an orthopedic surgeon who did her fellowship in snow sports injuries in Vail, and one is starting his Wharton MBA in the fall.

Meanwhile other relatives who went to good public schools came out of it with a thirst for knowledge and have had eclectic careers with degrees earned out of personal interest, and are happily living middle class lives in midsize cities.