<p>BTW I agree with ERPMom that the name on the undergraduate diploma may help with the first job, and with connections you may have for a lifetime but afte that you are on your own. I also believe are a very large number of schools in this country where you can get a first rate education and a lot of them few people have ever heard of.</p>
<p>For the schools fighting for good students willing to pay or borrow $40 or $50 grand a year to attend the rankings are very important. A small drop in the rankings means you start losing kids to your near competition unless you want to compete on price and then, if you are tuition dependent you start a vicious cycle. It may be unfai and stupd but it is what it is. People read those rankings like they read Consumer Reports.</p>