I was thinking of it from what an undergrad is trying to get out of college, graduate+ is an entirely different scene admittedly
1) if they were effective then we wouldnt see millions of students jumping into 60k a year private institutions
2) I don't buy this at all, I think students mostly select based on prestige. Academic rigor and research opportunities are mildly correlated to this but def not what high schoolers and their parents index on