<p>Right. Which is why, even though it bums out monstor344, there’s a difference between asking whether a college offers an excellent education and whether a college is prestigious. One is about the quality of the <em>product</em>; the other is about whether being affiliated with that product will impress others (be they friends, family, potential employers, grad schools).</p>
<p>But what “impresses” people isn’t necessarily based on reality. The average person on the street is indeed impressed by Harvard (as they should be) but what do they base it on? Vague perceptions that Harvard’s a really great school where smart people go. They don’t have any basis for their perceptions. They’re not thinking about specific department rankings in certain fields, or resources, or professors. So why is it so important to court their opinions?</p>