"Pedigree", and other terms used to refer to the same concept, are nothing more than the reflection of the track record of an institution regarding scientific quality and training.
"Pedigree" also reflects a pre-screening of candidates with regards to academic and technical potential.
It might be true that I won't become the next Niels Bohr if I attend the same universities he attended or lectured in, but let's not fool ourselves into assuming that you'll learn the same from a course taught by amateur underperforming lecturers than what you would from a course taught by nobel laureates to a room of top-performers.
I don't think the quality of the lecturers matters that much. It's all about the students for me: good students create an environment and expectations that drive the whole thing. An excellent teacher isn't going to drag average students to amazing, but conversely a decidedly average teacher will not make amazing students average.
Also, I am not convinced your average Nobel laureates is a particularly good teacher. If anything, from experience, research focused professors often see teaching as a chore and it has a clear impact on the quality of their teaching. If we're talking about teaching calculus 101, I'd much rather have a no-name professor who is a good pedagogue and loves teaching than a Fields medal winner.
Of course, in reality, the fact you were taught by $famous professor is probably more valuable than what you actually learned in the class.
> than what you would from a course taught by nobel laureates to a room of top-performers
Do you really think you're getting a full course taught by a Nobel Laureate? Do you really think the room is full of top-performers? Sure, the average might be better than a state college, but not much better (with some exceptions, surely)
"Pedigree", and other terms used to refer to the same concept, are nothing more than the reflection of the track record of an institution regarding scientific quality and training.
"Pedigree" also reflects a pre-screening of candidates with regards to academic and technical potential.
It might be true that I won't become the next Niels Bohr if I attend the same universities he attended or lectured in, but let's not fool ourselves into assuming that you'll learn the same from a course taught by amateur underperforming lecturers than what you would from a course taught by nobel laureates to a room of top-performers.