<p>As one who has attended prestigious schools, I understand your argument. </p>
<p>Prestige is often a direct consequence of consistent quality.
I wasn't casting doubt on the quality of these schools, but rather on the intention of students who fail to understand that prestige by itself doesn't always necessarily reflect a superior learning and social environment.</p>
<p>e.g. Cornell is far more prestigious than Dartmouth, but does that make it a better school in turn, in all respects? Harvard v. Princeton? Berkeley v. Stanford? Harvard v. Williams? Yale v. Amherst? And so on.</p>