This is certainly true for some students, particularly at the high end, but I would be very surprised if it’s true for your typical student making this decision. That is admittedly something that would need to be factored in to lifetime expected income, I admit.
What if their lifetime expected income is highly dependent on the connections they make in those years of education?
For example, making partner, or meeting the right people to begin a startup.
If school prestige attratcs the kind of people you need to meet, professor interest in students isn’t as important.
This is certainly true for some students, particularly at the high end, but I would be very surprised if it’s true for your typical student making this decision. That is admittedly something that would need to be factored in to lifetime expected income, I admit.