<p>If anything, if two colleges take similar quality of students and one college produces better chemists, engineers, whatever, wouldn’t that college be inherently better?</p>
<p>The strength of a program or major at a college is obviously dependent on the quality of students but also on the quality of faculty and the availability of resources. So, if Cornell has a stronger X program than Tufts despite similar quality of students, Cornell must be contributing something in the faculty/resources department.</p>
<p>Back to hawkette’s original point–</p>
<p>I more or less took her advice (about finding a school that fit best academically, socially, and resource/philosophy-wise) and I didn’t end up with a school that’s commonly cited for “well-rounded” kids, nor did I end up at a school that employers will recognize.</p>
<p>I think we fail to remember that most employers in most fields won’t think much about the prestige of an undergraduate degree. The biggest hump is getting one; the second biggest hump is having relevant experience to the field.</p>