@LoveTheBard -I agree the prestige/rigor of undergrad school is perhaps most important for a student who wants to get a Ph.D in the humanities. 1) the criteria for graduate admission to the right school are far less clear than for a professional school - a lot of it is who is recommending you and other soft factors. 2) and the field is not exactly bursting with opportunity, so just getting a Ph.D doesnt buy you much, has to be the right Ph.D.
Conversely, for this student’s med school quest, it’s mostly about MCAT and GPA, USC is not some backwater where a med school might discount the rigor.