Good news: the prestige of a university doesn't matter. 10 years later, the salaries are the same.

A comprehensive survey of university graduates ten years after graduating reveals that for most majors, families are probably wasting their money by choosing a more prestigious and more expensive university. Students who attend low-cost universities will eventually catch up in the years following graduation.
Sources and URL's:
Budget and staffing cuts throughout US higher education:
www.insidehigh...
www.insidehigh...
www.nytimes.co...
www.forbes.com...
www.wpr.org/ec...
www.highereddi...
www.forbes.com...
www.northcount...
www.spotlightp...
Enrollment drops for American students fortune.com/20...
Gallup survey reveals historic plunge in confidence in higher education www.chronicle....
DEI programs decline in US boardrooms www.axios.com/...
www.forbes.com...
Wall Street Journal, Do Elite Colleges Lead to Higher Pay? www.wsj.com/ar...
Comprehensive study and raw data: thinedgeconsul...