Some education is expensive because you are paying for the name and possibly for the contacts that you might make there. If you go to a big name Ivy League school expecting to learn from prominent professors, you are likely to be disappointed. Many of the big names at the big schools are taking off one year in three in sabbaticals, and when they are there they're focusing their attention on their own research first and their graduate students second.

There are a lot of good schools that focus on actually providing their students with a good education, and their costs are substantially less. There are a couple of books that provide information about good schools beyond the Ivy League:

1. Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You

2. Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That is Best for You

An added bonus: the money you save by not going to an Ivy League school can help fund your first startup.