Well, my argument is that prestige really doesn’t matter that much. And you make the case for me in your comment.
The other Ivies? Put it this way, anybody who has not heard of Princeton is not likely to have much influence over my life or that of my children. At some point, the awareness (or lack of it) of a Chinese version of someone living in rural West Virginia is not something about which I’m all too concerned. Pretty irrelevant IMO.
But your argument is therefore that prestige doesn’t matter?
Because we’re talking about general prestige.
There’s a big difference between having cachet among the elite classes and having cachet among the average person. And having cachet among even a rural Chinese person as you put it is a big indicator of prestige.
As I said, everyone knows Harvard. Not everyone knows Yale or Princeton when you go outside the US.
And yes, among people who matter, they will know Yale or Princeton. But it doesn’t get you the same reaction as saying you went to Harvard.
I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying here. It seems a bit circular, and why would I care about opinions concerning law schools held by someone who doesn’t even know Princeton doesn’t have one?
Which is my point exactly.
Fame among the general public doesn’t really matter that much .
Here’s a poll that sort of demonstrates this. The UK is a relatively Western, wealthy country with a service-based economy. It’s also English-speaking and even there, only 66% of the population have heard of Princeton (‘fame’).
The numbers aren’t quite accurate and knowledge of UK universities will be overrepresented considering it’s a British poll (and there’s a big difference between ‘awareness’ of and prestige). But if the UK only has 66% awareness, the percentages are going to be lower in other countries that don’t speak English or are further apart culturally than the UK.
But the point I’m making is that you’d be surprised how little the average person knows which is why prestige is overrated.