As a current college student, I wholeheartedly agree with the above.
Today I just had lunch with some of my high school friends. Out of all of us, the one that was probably the most successful and involved in school was the one that attended the state flagship - student senator, on the honors council, doing research, ect. And there were some pretty high acchieving kids in the room (think colombia, ucla, ect). So the journey doesnt end after high school. What you do after is just as if not more important. Its also important not to just rule out just because how it is perceived by hs or cc classmates.