Does it matter where you go to college?

        I have read all seven articles about elite colleges vs less selective colleges and have found that David W. Breneman's "Graduate School Matters More" makes the most sense. He believes that students should not look solely at college rankings when picking a university. Here's one quote from his article:

While the various reports on “college quality” are worth reviewing, a successful college experience resides in the relationship between a given college and a particular college student.

What Breneman is trying to say is students should pick the college after taking into account the setting, finance and size of the university. Setting is quite important. Some people like to stay close to home so they can return home more often for visits and not get homesick. Others want to get as far away from their parents as possible for freedom.
        Finance must be considered no matter what unless the student has a scholarship. Rich people can go wherever they want, but the less fortunate may have their options limited. The size of the college isn't as important, but still worth thinking about. If the student was to go to an elite college, chances are the subject would blend and be lost into the crowd of thousands of peers. Going to a smaller school increases the chances of being able to stand out.
        In contrast, I chose Kevin Carey's "Skip the Admissions Game" as the least persuasive argument. The main point wasn't really clear. The beginning said that elite colleges are good choices and then the second half explains how some community colleges are as good as some elite colleges. Here's two quotes from his article:

...you should seriously consider going to an elite college or university.

It turns out that the best community colleges do a better job than the average elite research university at teaching freshman and sophomores.

In addition to this confusion, the writer supports his points with opinions and offers no statistics except for one website. I found no strong persuasive points and more opinions, but the really big mistake was not staying on topic. Two contradicting points does not make a good essay.