Bingo!
With their cash , they could have sent the kid with avg SAT's to some Podunk state U and get a degree in a
competitive field ( engineering, accounting, etc).
But no, they spend big bucks to get their kids into some Ivy League school to end up majoring in "basket weaving" 
So true. Many state colleges offer as good an education as the Ivy League - without the cachet. But it's all about status with some people- much like it is with cars, houses, etc. They figured they could buy their way in.
Success is driven by character and passion. Look at George Lucas, for example:
"George Lucas graduated in 1967 as a film major with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, but before earning his four-year degree Lucas first attended Modesto Junior College, according to the CCCCO. The “Star Wars” creator put his education to good use and became one of Hollywood’s most influential and lucrative figures in the science fiction genre, with a net worth estimated by Forbes at $5.2 billion."