- And You Thought It Would Fail: The episode was initially met with extreme resistance from HBO executives because it showed Tony committing his first on-screen murder, and they felt that the audience would never be able to feel sympathy for the show's protagonist if he remorselessly killed an FBI informant without consequences. Being early in its run, the show had yet to become the critical powerhouse that it would eventually be, and the network still worried about its ability to sustain an audience. HBO tried to convince David Chase to write an alternate version with Tony letting the informant live; Chase ultimately compromised by agreeing to make Fabian (the informant) as unsympathetic as possible. In the end, though, not only did "College" end up winning a Primetime Emmy for "Outstanding Writing", it was eventually ranked the greatest episode of the series by TIME Magazine, and it was ranked the second greatest television episode of all time by TV Guide note . To this day, fans frequently cite it as the show's Growing the Beard moment.
- Anvilicious: Tony notices a sign at Bowdoin College that reads: "No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which one is true."
- Once Original, Now Common: At the time, the depiction of Tony ruthlessly murdering a man in cold blood was utterly shocking, as having a central protagonist of a television do such a thing had never been done before. Now, partly because of Tony's influence, plenty of others have done it, which could lead some newcomers to wonder what the big deal of the episode was.
- She Really Can Act: Edie Falco got her first Emmy nomination and win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Carmela in this episode.
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