Idmom06, your post displays both ego and excessive overcompensation, especially in your need to mention personal wealth as to underscore your absolute control in this situation; your 'Omgosh' comment is ridiculous. No offense, but I don't trust anyone who uses the word 'omgosh' in lieu of 'omg.' I'm sorry. VC not only silenced your rant, but he (or she) also completely obliterated any chance for a rebuttal---so please stop.
The whole situation is fairly simple: on a realistic scale, it does not matter whether you attend UCB of Stanford, for equally competitive placement for job or graduate school is available through both programs. Goldman recruits as many students from UCB as they do from Ivies; many other industries follow in similar suit. There is almost no difference in world perception between Stanford and UCB. Period. I've been halfway all across the globe, and I feel able to comment; because in every region, somehow, I engaged in 'college talk' with my foreign friends. EVERY one of them has heard of Stanford; every one of them has heard of UCB; none among them holds any greater sentiment for either school.
Rankings are a joke, anyway. What does it mean, for me, within North Carolina, for instance, whether UNC is ranked 30th or 28th or even 1st? The fact that I attend and will graduate from Carolina already guarantees me an interview with ANY! prestigious NC firm in my area of specialization. They won't care whether I went to UNC or Duke; whether I spent 15 or 45 thousand a year. I don't need to open the current US rankings and point to Carolina's status.
But this argument doesn't only hold within the bounds of merely NC. UNC is not a no-name school, and we have recruiters come from all over the country, representing the very elite firms, and sweep away UNC students by boatloads. Will a student from Berkeley or Standford have a better chance at the VERY top positions? Maybe, but I guarantee that either UNC or Duke or Berkley or Stanford students will be considered for an interview, all having an equal chance to at least exhibit their knowledge. The rest is up to the student and how well he or she fares during the interview.
Three of my UNC alumni buddies work for Goldman, a few are currently in top law schools (Harvard, Chicago, Columbia...), two of whom I know are in HBS, and five work for Bank of American Securities. Was any of them hurt by NOT going to Duke or Stanford? No. (There's my ego and compensation, but I will totally admit it
)Ranking are silly. End of story.