I used to hear stories from friends who attended Harvard, Yale, et al. about the quality of education they received from these places. Now, I have been attending a so-called prestigious university and finding out to my dismay that this trend, if it is a trend, holds true. At my current institution (Imperial College), it seems that there is little else than reputation and not only in my department but in others. Most of the graduates here simply enter finance, banking and investment upon graduation irrespective of their course of studies and looking back at it, my 'shitty' State University of New York that I attended as an undergraduate gave me a better education in terms of breadth and learning, with better instruction and teachers than anything here for a much better price. Unfortunately this formula of prestige keeps people rolling in again and again, but you have to admit that it is fucked up. There is just something wrong about universities whose sole attributes are prestige and research quality where everything else goes to pot. I suppose this is sort of a rant but I wonder if any of you have experienced this as well. 
Wholeheartedly agree.
My undergrad years I attended an IVY league in NYC. For my graduate degree work I went to a SUNY in the city.
I found that:
(A) The professors were of the same caliber. Heck, often times the same professors that taught at Columbia would also teach at the SUNY on their days off.
(B) It was very inexpensive to go to a SUNY.
(C) At the end, after you pass boards and gather the necessary certifications needed, it makes very little difference when looking for a workplace. GRANTED a Harvard grad with a strong GPA in his discipline will always get a second look, but I've also seen a Harvard grad with a shitty GPA be considered as much as the next guy.
(D) Networking was pretty much the same.
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