Yes, that's exactly right--the normal people. And part of the reason that they are the "normal" people is because of their choice of college. You're right--there's no difference between MSU or OSU. Whatever. But there's a light years of difference between OSU and Middlebury, or Southwest Missouri State and Yale or IUPUI and Washington and Lee. The people that go to the latter schools will have opportunities that simply aren't available to graduates of the former.
An illustration: I remember when I was interviewing for graduate school, and I visited University of Chicago. While I was there, I took a tour with two or three other candidates, and one candidate asked the tour guide whether the school was competitive. He tour guide laughed and said, "dude, this is University of Chicago. You can finish dead last in your class and still land an awesome job." That guy was right--because having U of C on your resume opens doors that UIC won't.
Several years ago, a family friend's son was picking colleges. He was a football player and got offered a scholarship to play football at a few Big Ten schools. He also got offered admission (no athletic scholarship--Ivies don't give them) at Yale, where he would play football.
My friend was debating on the advice to give his son, and I told him it was a no brainer: he could play football at BigTen U and graduate with the same degree as several hundred thousand other people or, he could play football at Yale where his classmates and teammates would be future Presidents, Senators, Ambassadors, and titans of industry. He did end up going to Yale, and he'll have a lifetime of contacts and opportunities the likes he never would have had at State U.
>>And part of the reason that they are the “normal” people is because of their choice of college. <<
Just keep believing those dreams...