My father, who was a brilliant, accomplished scientist, always said that a diligent student could get a first-rate education at any accredited college. He went to a historically black college with a liberal admissions policy for his undergraduate degree, even though he'd been accepted to an "Ivy," because of the full scholarship and the convenience. For his doctorate, he attended an "Ivy." He acknowledged the superior facilities, but he knew that he never could have absorbed all of the faculty knowledge in four years at either school. He knew that cultivating good relationships with both the faculty and the library was the key to getting the most out of a university. I would add that for a truly first-rate education, one should cultivate relationships outside one's discipline as well.