[blacksmythe]

  >> However, I think most people would agree that academics are not the only thing that matters for success, 
  >> either personally or professionally.

I would agree. I graduated from Caltech in engineering, and on the whole I would say that my class has been fairly successful in whatever they did. However, if you look at people that are the best known in their field, most of them combine being very strong technically (but not in my observation the best in their field) with tremendous drive and a talent for self-promotion.