<p>There's no question in my mind that dress, hair, piercing styles very much reflect the reality of campus life. The fact that one might even want fakes, or look for designer labels secondhand, says an awful lot about campus life, as do the cars you see in the parking lot.</p>
<p>Three years ago, I ended up running an enormous amount of data on socio-economic diversity on campuses, all prompted by what we actually saw as differences among a number of top LACs. In every case, the data seemed to match our perceptions.</p>
<p>It matters - a lot. I spent four years as the poor slob at a rich man's college (it was only male at the time), and I felt out of place constantly. I also learned heaps about myself, and about other people from the experience, and grew as a result, and I am grateful for the experience to this day. But, knowing what I do now, it is not one I would be likely to repeat.</p>