Not "unique," but certainly not meaningless either.
In particular, my experience with top schools is that, more than "average" schools, they're often hard—the people that get in are very competitive and competent, and the material and pace reflect this.
It's useful information to know that somebody was up to dealing with all that, because not everybody is...
The hardest part about Yale was getting in. Yes, many if not most of the people who get in are smart, but are they all competitive and competent? I don't believe so.
Top school == a signal, but it is a weakly correlated one with being productive in my opinion.
In particular, my experience with top schools is that, more than "average" schools, they're often hard—the people that get in are very competitive and competent, and the material and pace reflect this.
It's useful information to know that somebody was up to dealing with all that, because not everybody is...