> said that, at least in her hiring committees, your education and particularly the prestige > of the school you went to was very important

In all of the hiring committees I've participated in I can't remember a case where the candidate's school was a significant factor in the hiring decision. Even for new grads.

It's possible that it's given more weight in the pre-screening process, but once you get to interviews it just doesn't matter much at all. At least that's my experience as both an interviewer and a hiring committee member.