The $50K biology degree from Northwestern is arguably worth it. Northwestern is the best school on that list, and an undergraduate degree in biology is often a stepping stone to an MD, MHA, MPH, or PhD.
I also wonder about the Rhode Island School of Design degree, I really don't know much of anything about that whole area of design and fine arts, but I been told they're one of the top schools in their areas of specialization, and a moment with Wikipedia indicates they're #1. Plus it sounds like they're intertwined with Brown.
So if you're going to get such a major, it sounds like the place to do so. And 25K in debt isn't completely insane.
If it actually made them useful, e.g. included some time "in country", and ideally minimal language and cultural fluency in at least one country of note, sure thing. Especially at such a price.
I have a friend who did both physics and Japanese and for a long time did well using both.
Edit: If you're disdainful of the "BA", you should be aware that there isn't any formal distinction between a "BA" and "BS", and every school decides for itself what type of degree to award.
Northwestern University happens to award BA degrees for biology: http://www.biosci.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/
> The undergraduate life sciences major offered in Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences is the Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with concentration in one of five areas: biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, neurobiology, physiology, and plant biology.
Is says a bachelor of arts, but looking into Northwestern's programs more, I think it is a type. I agree that $50K of debt for a BS in Bio would be reasonable.
In another direction, I don't believe MIT has any BA degrees, and a quick check showed that if you major in music, you get a Bachelor of Science degree (abbreviated S.B. at least in the '80s). Of course, you don't graduate from MIT in any field without doing a lot of physics and the calculus, plus some other science requirements....