<p>For the record: Of course people don’t take such things into account. They chase the “prestige” and you’ll find that it’s rather meaningless outside of say Harvard, Yale (okay, I don’t think this one is as good as the others), Princeton, MIT, Caltech and Chicago which provide unusually strong introductory science experiences. From the course websites I’ve seen, other elites research schools are rather average (but difficult, often in the wrong ways). One is better off going to some sort of LAC or even some of the better public schools who are known for science education (places like Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, OSU, and Wisconsin are leaders in undergraduate science education. They are generally much better than many private schools despite the section sizes). Seriously think about it, you’re trying to get an education and a good one at that given the cost (I think Oxford actually saves money vs. many privates too). Place this above the desire to be at a “top” school. Depending on what you’re doing, many are over-rated and some places without the prestige are under-rated.</p>