[AOII Angel]

Things are different in the North vs the South for schools because people respond in say Baltimore to hearing that you graduated from Hopkins for medicine the same way that people in Louisiana respond to hearing that you graduated form LSU. The familiarity of the system and pride in the local university is very strong across the south. I can't tell you how many residents that I worked with who were very proud to say they graduated from UAB or UT-Southwestern. All the state schools in the south have a very good name in the south. In the north, state schools don't have a good name, and the thought of a state school doesn't reassure the public. Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, etc carry more weight. They're impressive names in the south, as well, but you just don't have that many people running off to those schools to try and impress the locals.