<p>Undergrad really DOESN’T matter that much in terms of prestige, unless you went to a HYPSMC and want to work in the financial industry (and even then it doesn’t matter as much as people think). But I don’t really blame anyone for thinking otherwise. Look at how everyone in this VERY forum kvetches over the tiniest things. “OMG DID THEY SEND LETTERS TODAY?” “OMG I GOTS AN EMAIL FROM SOMEONE AT ADMISSIONS DOES THAT MEAN I HAVE A EBTTER CHANCE OF GETTING IN?!” Look at how popular culture depicts the ‘elite’ and wealthy on television shows or movies - the characters will inevitably have attended Harvard or another Ivy (unless they’re in any way nerdy, then it’s always MIT). If it’s a show featuring a high school student trying to get into a college, it’s almost universally Harvard/Yale/Stanford/a select few others.</p>
<p>USNWR has built an entire industry around a woefully inadequate and antiquated ranking system. While college administrators put on a face and bemoan how ranking reduces everything they offer to a single number, they nevertheless continue to mail in those requested stats. And they’ll slyly promote the hell out of it if they do come out on top.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that all undergrad programs are the same - there are measurable and unquantifiable differences (sometimes vast) between different departments and environments. And it’s true that certain things do take into account the ‘rigor’ of your undergraduate school (this is especially true for medical and law school, and to a lesser extent PhD programs). But it would do a lot of people on this forum a lot of good to stop worrying so much about how ‘good’ their undergrad is in the eyes of others and society, and focus on what’s really important (and if I have to tell you what that is, you’re hopeless). </p>
<p>Then again, I say all this as an ND and Princeton alum. So I guess it’s easy for me to castigate others when I myself played the game.</p>