I must be in the other 10%. I thought of this thread because, in ten minutes, I am interviewing a cum laude graduate from Barnard, with her Masters from Columbia. Her degrees made her resume rise to the top of the pile.
Similarly, last week I interviewed a Fulbright scholar. Why did I choose to interview her? She was a Fulbright scholar!
Intelligence matters.
As I have written before, the degree only gets you the interview. But from there, the interview and especially the demonstration lesson are stronger determinants of whether you will be hired. I always will hire someone from a low ranked college who connects well with students and who teaches an effective lesson above someone with a shiny degree who does not have that “magic” in the classroom.