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<p>Of course it depends entirely on the student and a student going any of these places can do well. A student going somewhere a whole lot worse can do even better.</p>
<p>But the schools you’ve chosen to list are actually so different that their overall offerings are quite different than one another and while they may be equally great in some ways and serve particular interests well in someways, overall and in fundamentals they are not equals even amongst themselves. I say this having friends at all of the places mentioned and I doubt any of them would disagree.</p>
<p>It’s not a value judgment-- a student studying journalism will probably be happier and receive more directed learning at Northwestern, but that does not mean it offers the same overall intellectual preparation of UChicago, for instance. That’s not necessarily the judgment I’m making, just an example of the kind of “inequality” I’m talking about.</p>
<p>I’m a huge proponent and always have been on these boards of ignore ranking, ignore prestige, ignore everything but the individual school and whether it offers what you feel you need to succeed in whatever your goal is. The rest is all ********.</p>