Yes it matters what school you go to. I don’t think prestige as viewed by the lay public is important. But better known schools are often better known for a reason. The reason may mean you’ll have a better experience there. Regional schools can be good but are more risky. I’ve been in education a very long time. I had to look up University of Findlay. That means that of literally thousands of applications I’ve reviewed from college students looking for various graduate programs, none came from University of Findlay. Why not? I’ve reviewed plenty from other small schools so why not University of Findlay? Do they not encourage graduate training? Out of thousands of conferences I’ve attended and presented at, I’ve never seen the name University of Findlay. Why? Of the student’s I’ve advised about college, none have mentioned University of Findlay? Maybe they specialize in only OT and animal science (broadly defined). If so, I’d not have run into them. But if not, then I would wonder if top notch research is taking place there and whether the faculty members are hooked into their specialty areas or are they teaching from 20 year old notes. It can go either way. Just something to check out. I see Michigan, Wisconsin, Swarthmore, Williams, all over the place.