graduating from a better university generally gives you a better shot at a better graduate school, given you have the grades. also, a well-known university is favored by employers over an obscure one since the employers at least have an idea of what to expect from a graduate of the known university. this is why also why it's (generally) easier to get a job in the same state as your university (excluding the top notch universities, of course), as it is more likely to be known by the employers... even a degree from a top liberal arts college in the northeast might not have as much of an impact somewhere in the west as it would in the northeast.