My uni had an entire course devoted to data structures (from b-trees, to relational db) so I beg to differ. Anecdotal (much as your comments are as well) but I've often employed the knowledge i gained in my classes as a CS major in subsequent engineering jobs. In the course of my jobs I've used everything from genetic algorithms to least squares regression, and everything in between.

And yes, there is a good reason that it's more valuable, particularly for a recent grad. It shows that a prospective job candidate has already put forth some effort in the field (from working on class projects, to exams, to working with other students on larger programs)