<p>I’m extremely confused by your post, and why having Greek letters is going to matter to anyone in academia unless they’re PBK or the like.</p>
<p>First of all-- “rich, preppy, white” are not qualities you’re going to find in any urban environment except maybe Georgetown, and even then that applies only to the immediate area. Second, where it makes sense to go to depends entirely on your field of study. Third, you do know that a hugely disproportionate number of faculty in tenure-track positions come from schools ranked in the top ten in their field. Fourth, your getting full scholarship may be a lot easier in some fields than others, and is significantly easier at schools with a lot more financial resources. This is precisely why financial resources matters a lot for grad school outside of pure facilities for science.</p>