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In England, we have a nasty habit of judging each other socially by how we all speak. It's impossible not to do this, however much we fight against it. It's like My Fair Lady - your vowels and so on will "place" you, geographically and socially. When I lived in the US, it was fantastic not to be placed in that way.
However, it seems to me that people are placed in America by the simple "where did you go to school" question, which is often asked seconds after meeting. So, for instance, I hear that Purdue is really great for electrical engineering; so is MIT. If someone is accepted at both, would they be so opposed to the idea of going somewhere prestigious - again with the endless pot of money thrown in - that they would choose Purdue? It's a kind of misplaced piety. I think they would be missing a golden opportunity, and a golden experience.
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