For those who went to top-tier schools, is it more rude to answer directly when asked "What school did you go to/Where did you go to school?", or to instead name the city where the school is located? Why?

It depends on the audience. My best friend when we're local, says she just went to school in the area--if they keep pressing, she says Stanford. Reason is, she wants to be seen as normal, not super smart, or snobby. (She is a very smart, friendly, social, pretty, and far from a snob) If we're around other ivy leaguers, business people, then the situation is appropriate to say Stanford*. I think she resents more when people ask her what she did--she was a CS major, and then the convo goes to, "wow! CS major and you are a girly girl".  I went to UCLA, when I get asked, I say UCLA. *I went to a good school-UCLA, but not "ivy league"(though many do after their  undergraduate degree). I'm around a lot of ivy leaguers because of my best friend---I don't think they truly care where I went to school, but care more if I'm an intelligent, social good person.

It's not about being specific or vague -- its about being the person you love and feel cool with. Regardless of the question or the answer, if you feel anxious when you're talking to someone, they will feel uncomfortable. Like all human interactions, it's partially about what you say and partially about the relationship and connection you have/are trying to establish. I went to Lesley University for undergrad (in Cambridge, actually!), Brandeis for Master's, and Johns Hopkins for PhD. You might notice a pattern in the ascending rankings of the schools, but even when Lesley was the only one on my record, I would've never felt uncomfortable with someone saying they went to Harvard (obviously this happened all the time since we all went to the same bars, etc). Whether someone is having a conversation in a way that demonstrates a genuine interest in connecting is far more important. That's the attitude I have now even with a "#1" to disclose, and mostly people seem to feel comfortable with that even if they never went to college anywhere because I'm being myself -- which is someone who cares about people. If people don't feel comfortable with that for whatever reason, then I feel uncomfortable because that's a symptom of empathy. Sometimes that's frustrating and awkward beause that's how conversations with strangers can be. Sometimes someone spits when they talk and it's awkward...but we try to get over it.

When asked so often people tell me"Oh you go to school in Baltimore? Hopkins is a great school", making the assumption that it's the only school in the city. I correct them, everytime. Be direct. It saves you issues in the future.

From my experience, when people ask the "where did you go to school?" question, they're just trying to be friendly. At bottom, they don't really care - they're just trying to strike a friendly conversation. Because of this, I always say "I went to school in Chicago."  Predictably, that answer is almost always followed by a discussion about the city of Chicago.  Problem solved. Similarly, in the past, when I answer "I went to undergrad at Brigham Young University and graduate school at The University of Chicago", almost always, the latter part of the answer is ignored and people hone in on the fact that "I must be a Mormon" since I went to school at BYU.  Then, the school thing is completely ignored and we end-up having a more meaningful conversation about religion, etc. In both examples above, here's what I've learned: Where you went to school doesn't matter. Some of the best and most successful people I know and admire didn't go to a top school or any college at all. Some of the dumbest and least admired people I know went to what we might consider a top school. One time, I interviewed job candidates that went to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Chicago - I didn't hire any of them; instead, I hired the candidate that had no college degree, but spent 8 years in the military and who had started a failed company.  She was much smarter, emotionally more prepared, and was heads and shoulders above her competition. Where you went to school has no bearing on your character or the type of human being you are. After a few years in industry, where you went to school is only really quasi-important for speech introductions and obituaries - and even then - nobody will remember where you went to school or the name of the school you went to, but what kind of person you were, what kind of friend you were, what kind of father you were, and what kind of mother you were to your children.

I'll mention the city at times but it's Berkeley... so it's practically the same thing. Just mention the school or city if same name.  By beating around the bush you are making the assumption that you are better than this person  you are speaking to because you went to a top-tier school and are afraid they will feel lower than you because of it.  What kind of view is that?   Be proud of your school and put everyone on an equal playing field.

I went to two "big name" schools, one a secondary/high school, the other a university. For the university I just answer "Oxford" . I picked the wrong subject (law) but it was a great experience, and the place is perceived as fairly meritocratic -um, right? For the secondary school I don't answer. If pushed I say the region, or that it was a posh private school but I didn't like it. Yes I was on a full scholarship most of the time, and yes things have changed a bit socially, but for me the active reason is that I didn't like what it did to me and dislike what it stands for. I'm not worried per se about what people would think- just don't want to get on to such a sensitive personal topic, or to be taken for someone who likes the place. That's allowable, right?

i don't really know why columbia grads would say "i went to school in nyc" since there are quite a lot of schools in nyc and, frankly, the first one i would think of is nyu.it's which of two possibilities do i want to happen.  if i say "i went to school in dc" then comes the "oh which one" and then i might as well have just said "i went to georgetown."  then i usually get a response like, "oh i've heard of it" ha ha. (it's not that funny even the 3rd or 4th time...)frankly, i went to the best school in the world (imo :) i will pretty rarely have anything negative to say about gtown) and i'm proud of having gone there.  there's no reason to feel awkward about saying where you went to school, regardless of what school it was.

I personally don't think either method is rude.  If asked where I went to school, I'll say the name of my school and that's that. However, some people prefer to de-emphasize their elite education (and in some contexts this might not be a bad idea) and just mention the city or state, and I think that's fine as well. 

At times, it is really a conversation killer when people perceive you smarter than they are.  At those times, it is really much more comfortable for both parties if you don't mention the name directly. For example, one statement which I use quite often is "I did my engineering from Mumbai". For all practical purposes, it suffices, unless I am dealing with guys who might be interested in the exact information about college.