I did consider the possibility that one could say "I got into Harvard but went to X because..."
This could have made sense before Harvard's financial aid became so generous, but now they give loads of aid to middle- and low-income students.
It would sound a bit weird to keep saying "I got into Harvard...", likely for the same reason you mention at the end. Who wants to be an eliteness snob? Unfortunately there are many such people in the world, which is part of the reason their cachet persists.
I have known multiple Stanford students who still bring up the fact that they "also got into Harvard." It seems that if you get into Harvard, you should just go. The brand name is too powerful.
This could have made sense before Harvard's financial aid became so generous, but now they give loads of aid to middle- and low-income students.
It would sound a bit weird to keep saying "I got into Harvard...", likely for the same reason you mention at the end. Who wants to be an eliteness snob? Unfortunately there are many such people in the world, which is part of the reason their cachet persists.