I went to the San Diego AI as quite a few others here did and can say that the quality of the program is absolutely dependent on the quality of the instructors, and how many of those actively work in the industry. That being said, we should not be complacent with how much money it costs. It really really is a TON of money…
You're right it is a bad standard to set, but sadly, it has already been set for several years. The only way to get your foot in the door is to learn they techniques and tools to build a good portfolio. Unless you pirate everything, software, equipment, and tutorial DVDs are expensive too (especially without education…