Jacques Steinberg writing on affirmative action points out, the

frenzy to secure the imprimatur of an Ivy League institution is irrational, at least economically. In 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the federal Department of Education, examined the earnings of a group of college graduates five years after their graduation and concluded that the selectivity of their alma maters had had a minimal impact. A more important predictor of income was the person's undergraduate major.

but, "In a nation of few formal class distinctions, the college sticker on one's car may be the most potent." Dummies.