Living in Japan, I am compelled to agree. Most universities here are private, and everybody knows that you have to get "a college education". The end result b

Living in Japan, I am compelled to agree. Most universities here are private, and everybody knows that you have to get "a college education". The end result being that, outside of a select few national institutions that appear to have some degree of academic rigor, university in Japan is referred to as a "four-year vacation", and graduation is effectively automatic. Reflecting back on the original post, I'm not sure that nationalization of universities in the US would help. We have plenty of high-quality state schools as-is, but Harvard and friends are prestigious because their brands come with deeply powerful social networks. The same effect applies to making it illegal to put university names on resumes. Sure, there is definitely a halo effect in being able to put Harvard or Stanford on your resume, but I would wager that the vast majority of top-tier university students don't apply by (metaphorically) filling out a job application and handing it to the shift manager. Instead, your work comes through your network. Alice introduces you to Bob who knows that Charlene has invested in TinyCo, which is poised to be the next unicorn, and so you get in on the "ground floor" in this fashion. That's not the kind of thing you can really address via legislation. (Note that there is an assumption here that you can Do The Thing. Charlene probably doesn't want you working at TinyCo and squandering her investment if you aren't going to help make it the next unicorn.)