Are .edu links really better?

[inhouseseo]

Getting .edu links seems to be the Holy Grail for many SEOs and link builder. I understand how difficult it can be to get a link from a .edu domain that happens to cover topics in your industry.

What I am wondering is, has there been any studies/tests to determine if .edu links are more powerful that a link from a trusted/relavant .com?

All things being equal (DA, PA, etc.), is the .edu better?

What if the .com has slightly better metrics, is the .edu still better for SEO?

I haven't been able to find any expert blog posts about the added value.

[HandsomeWeb]

Some are; some are not.

.edu is not necessarily better than some .com.  If the link is from a university's law school resources pages and links to your site on law books, this may be more valuable, than a student's page with a lot of links to and discussions about what beer is best for getting drunk the quickest.

The Google algorithm does consider the trust factor on domain names.  Because just anyone of the street can't get on GoDaddy and buy example.edu, it will automatically get a trust boost.

Some discussion of the different values of the .edu can be found at:  http://searchengineland.com/explaining-edu-link-value-with-examples-64012