Unless you're studying business or engineering, usually the college you attend isn't that big of a deal. Getting any sort of arts/science degree from any college is about the same unless its a specialized school for a certain art like film school or something. Also, saying Utah isn't a great school is based of your assumptions. Utah is becoming a better school every year and they aren't the same 80% acceptance rate school they used to be 6 years ago. If you want to go into any sort of medical field, U of U is one of the best school in the nation. Every school has their strengths and yes boulder is a "good school" but most people think that just because they accept less people and it costs more money. You can get a very good education at any university, the level of knowledge you achieve is based on your personal experience, not the name of your school on your $50k-300k piece of paper.