[JMTQp8lwXL]

Most colleges aren't elite. The vast majority of college graduates do not go to elite colleges. It's myopic to think of elite schools as "all schools" as so many articles do.

Seriously, rankings are so pointless. I personally value someone's skills, not what institution they obtained them from. I guess for our society's elite, it's their version of keeping up with Joneses. Or maybe the upper class feels the need for their kids to get elite credentials to compensate for a lack of any real skill. I don't know how motivated I'd be in life, if I didn't have to work to support myself. So in that sense, I do have some empathy for people in that position.

[mcguire]

There are "elite schools". But there are also sub-par, "diploma mill" schools.

The majority of colleges are probably in the middle, doing their best to teach the majority of students. However, the institution does matter.