Don’t misunderstand - she loved going to A&M and knew it was a fine school. She thought that graduation from an Ivy would give her a better start. She started checking into it and found that A&M really was the best opportunity for her. You can go almost anywhere and find an A&M grad. They’ll hire fellow grads because they know how hard it was to get that diploma and ring!
I used to know the A&M Mafia (meant in the kindest way possible) when I lived and worked at Ft. Hood. Your post made me miss Texas.