It was at BYU that I truly was able to apply the gospel in aspects outside of religion. I was encouraged to seek the spirit to guide me in subjects like Biology and English.
I was taught through my experiences at BYU, that God cares about secular things, and the spirit testifies of all truth.
Could I have learned that at a place like Stanford? Absolutely, but it would have been a much harder row to hoe for me to do so.
Those things are far more valuable to me than any gain Stanford connections might have afforded me in my life.