One of my personal favorite questions during an interview is

What do you think matters more – the institute from where you story or the course that you study?

Over years, there is an emerging pattern. Individuals performing external facing roles (sales, marketing etc) invariably say the institute name matters more. While internal facing roles say the course

Might be easy to explain. A good institute name can take you far in life. Present a socially desirable image of yourself

A course might find it hard to achieve this

Here, is hands down the best response I received in all these years

The institute matters more to me. Because that determines the peer group I will be studying with. And while the best course will simply allow for the best content to pass through, the best institute will allow for the best learning to happen, irrespective of the course.

I felt this was a powerful way of looking at things.

The course you study doesn’t determine your education. Your surrounding does.