@IxnayBob, because they don’t know any better, don’t know about those “rigor” rankings or because those “rigor” rankings are bunk.
OP, have you asked your parents your question?
@mokusatsu, yes. They wanted to send me somewhere that would be challenging, but they think that where they sent me is the most amazing school on the planet (many of my relatives had gone there in the past) in all respects so they would not see a difference between the school’s “rigor” ranking and its prestige.
They also thought that being high in the “rigor” rating was something to brag about. (I also thought the same thing until my classmate at another school said, “just why would you go to a pretty hard school that nobody’s heard of? If you’re going to go to a hard school, why not go to MIT or something?”)
They were shocked when I showed them some statistics about student selectivity, grad school outcomes, etc.
Rankings Shmankings.
I advise all college researching families to take the various rankings with a grain of salt. They can be useful datapoints, especially if they lead to themes and/or good insights. But they should not be rigidly used for college selections. The most important factors are related to fit (academic, financial, social).
@HappyAlumnus , I don’t know if the rigor ratings are bunk; I had never heard of them before today so your second possible reason might be right. I think some kids like rigor, regardless of whether they get recognition for it.
Perhaps my kids are drawn to it because of the example their mother sets. We have been financially able to retire for some time, but my wife still works at a stressful job because she gets gratification from it. She runs marathons knowing she won’t win, even in her age group, but because it feels good to finish the race. DS1 texted me today that he bench pressed a personal best. DS2 is at RISD doing a 6-week pre-college session that is known for being tough, with a teacher who is known for being a hardass, because if you don’t get defeated by the 6 weeks, you have experienced finding your personal grit.
It is unfortunate when the fit isn’t right, but I think many kids would find a fit at a high rigor, lower cachet school.
Your LAC wasn’t “highly ranked”? That’s strange. Being in the top 10 is what’s known as highly ranked.
If something is high quality. It has intrinsic value regardless of whether Joe Average has heard of it.
@Colorado_mon and @IxnayBob, thanks; you make good points.
I’d guess that we just see school differently. When it was my turn to pick where I would go to school (for law school), I wanted to go to the highest-ranking and most prestigious school possible. I was sick of working like a dog yet having nothing to show for it in my undergrad school, which even people in the city where it was hadn’t heard of it. I think that anyone can adapt to any place, and that anyone can be a “fit” anywhere. (Well, maybe not a party-hard atheist at BYU, but even there, s/he could make the most of it.)
I do appreciate your points, however.
@Pizzagirl, I can’t see your posts, so there’s no point in starting an argument.
My view doesn’t disallow “rigor fatigue.” I can understand a sense that you’ve paid your dues, and given a choice, perhaps you’ll finish off with a bit of prestige 
I don’t know how old you are, but my guess is that some time in the future you’ll look back at your UG with a sense that it was, on balance, a good thing.
Caveat - For LAW school, rankings do matter. Per my reading, these days it seems to only make sense to go into law IF you love it AND you are accepted into one of the top ranked schools.
@IxnayBob, I’m now middle-age. Unfortunately I view my undergrad years as a complete waste, and I deeply regret going where I did.
I’ve gotten huge benefits from where I went to law school, and it would have been wonderful to get twice those benefits, from two schools with strong name recognition and strong alumni networks, but unfortunately I have just one.
Very hard for me to understand why a middle age person would still care that much where he/she went to UG. I really thought OP was a new graduate based on few posts I have read.
@oldfort, I don’t care much where I went to undergrad. I don’t think much about it. However, going where I went was a mistake, and I wouldn’t go there again. Not a chance.
One of my kids purposely sought out the schools with the most rigorous academics she could find. She was tired of the slow pace of high school, and looking for the smartest people and the hardest schools. Ended up choosing between U of Chicago, Swarthmore, and Harvey Mudd. Rankings did not really enter in to her thinking… she wanted to be challenged. And she now is, and is loving it. Just because YOU wouldn’t want that college experience doesn’t mean other students don’t want it.
@intparent, all of those schools are both rigorous AND very, very highly ranked by any reputable ranking source. The “rigor” ranking of them matches their US News and other “prestige” rankings. There will be a big payoff with a U of Chicago diploma. Same for Harvey Mudd (an amazing engineering school, nationally known) and Swarthmore (maybe not as well known, but still a top LAC).
My question was for a different context: what if the school is high up in the “rigor” ranking but low in other rankings and thus not well known, not prestigious or not that great overall by metrics other than “rigor”?
Your past posts indicate you went to Davidson for undergrad and an Ivy for Law school. You are also much more pleased with your Ivy degree than your Davidson one.
That is fine for you…but you are trying to project your views onto others. Sure, some folks pick schools based on ratings (btw, Davidson is in the top 10 LACs according to USNews). However, plenty of folks do not care one bit about college ratings…not one bit.
'nuff said.
So OP’s reason for going to college is to just have it on the resume.
I don’t think I remember everything form college, but it definitely shaped me.
thumper1, each person is certainly entitled to his or her own views. I’m just curious as to why people would make choices that I would not make. My way of thinking is certainly not the “only” or necessarily the “right” way.
jym626, I cannot see your posts so no need to start an argument; I cannot and will not respond.
I wonder if HappyAlumnus is related to another long-time poster whose only go in life is to appeal to family members, friends, and random strangers he met on the bus. ;
People make different choices than you…because they are not YOU.