First, the certification only costs as much as the tests required to get it. For MCAC there are 4 tests at $100-$150 apiece. For MCSD (the new .NET track) there are 5 or 6 tests (can't remember offhand).
Personally, I've never had of an employer that gave raises, bonuses, etc. based on developer certification. I also can't say that it ever got me a job -- as expected, experience is the major component for getting a job. The certification won't hurt you and some employers have commented that they like it, but it's not a make-or-break thing.
My guess is that if you have no real world experience (no professional computer experience that is), then a certification is not going to get you the job. Without any real experience, getting the MCAD or MCSD is going to be fairly difficult (the solutiosn test is hard). Now if you have a year or two of experience AND a certification, then it will show the employer that you're taking an interest in your job and you like what you do. The certification alone still won't get you the job though
If you decide you want to take the tests, I'd suggest waiting til you get on at a company and see if they'll pay for it. Most companies are glad to help out, even buy you books to help study with. If you are applying at a company you can always do some research to see if they want you to have a certification before you come in.
My current employer is hoping that all developers set a goal of getting certified at some point, even if it's a year or more away. I think studying is useful in that it forces you to study some topics that you might otherwise think aren't important and exposes you to things you might otherwise skip. In some cases, those "unimportant" things will come in handy one day.
Another factor of certification, one not mentioned as broadly, is that Microsoft offers special titles for companies that have X number of certified professionals. I don't know the specifics, but they can give companies names like "Partners" and "Solution Partners" and such (I may have the names wrong). For instance, my company has 2 MCSD's (2nd oldest track - MCSD is in it's 3rd incarnation now) and 4 more that are 1 test away. We have some title that our clients like to see (I can't remember exactly, but then again I'm no sales person selling our company to clients
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I will say that the Solutions test is one of the hardest ever - it involves everything from Database Diagrams to Use Case analysis and more. I liked it, as I think you have to have some real-world experience to pass that test, unlike the language tests (VB6, VB.NET, C#, etc.) that ask too-easy questions (in my mind).
-Nerseus
PS I do most of the interviewing at my company, along with two other people. We can tell pretty quick what people know. If we see a certifaction it's usually "oh, he/she has an MCSD" - a mental note that they've taken the time and effort to pass the exams. It still doesn't mean they know what they're doing
Is this a common thing for people hiring entry level folk?