My friends and colleagues graduated from many top universities including Penn, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Villanova, Harvard, Yale, Berkley, Brandeis, Rutgers, Boston U.... the list goes on. I can assure you that I have never had a problem keeping up in academic discussions with any of them.
I have friends that have Ohio University undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees from Columbia, Penn, UVA, Georgetown, etc.
I got a 30 composite on my ACT and accepted a full ride to Ohio. It's the best decision I ever made.
I sure wish a 30 would result in a full ride today! My daughter got a 30 on her ACT some months ago, graduated 2nd in her class and was only offered a $2,000 scholarship by Ohio.
I benefited from being from Adams County. I was a member of the first class of Appalachian Scholars. They gave out ten scholarships (six to main campus) to students from Appalachian Ohio based on a combination of financial need, ACT scores, grades, extracurriculars, an essay, and an on-campus interview.