4/4 from a small college is good enough because he/she may have
May have potential to have 4/4 from Stanford. But 3.9/4 from a small college is a indicator that he/she is not that good. In my eyes 3.6 from Stanford is better than 3.9 from a small college. So one has to be very careful to maintain perfect (or near) GPA if in a so so college.