Any smart company will start their new-hires at the bottom, and let them work their way up. Especially college grads. There is no way to quantify their contribution to a company with their degree. Pedigree in education means nothing - doing the job well, and learning fast means everything to an employer. OTJT as an intern might give an indication of their potential contribution as well. If a college grad has no OTJT, that's not my problem as an employer, when I can find people with it.

It depends on the nature of the business, and what they expect from new hires. Small companies often need to hire experienced people because they can't afford a learning curve. Some large organizations prefer to hire new grads that they can train for a couple of years to do things "their way." I know some organizations that will only hire people from the top 5 or 10% of their graduating class, based on the assumption that they will be high achievers.

I have also seen some very bright people leave jobs after a short amount of time because they were forced to "start at the bottom." If you are going to hire smart, motivated people you need to keep them interested and challenged or they will quit. I think it's mostly a matter of matching the skill set to the job.