I think that the value of certification is mostly the process, not the paper. You are preparing a certification, then you're very focused on a field of learning, then you really learn something well, plus a paper of certification.
However, I know many people prepare the certification just for the paper, even don't write code, only memorize the answers. It is possible to get the paper without really understanding the subject, since there are so many mocks, even braindumps out there. That actually decreases the value of the paper.
In real industry, many many excellent talented developers/architects do not have certification. They usually tend to ignore someone's certs on resume. Someone has certification usually value your certs more. It totally depends.
However,
no one, absolutely no one will argue on the value of your experiences, especially for new graduates like you. Focusing on experiences will not hurt you in any sense. Let alone you already have some certs under your belt to show the employers who value certifications.
That's just my opinion.
[ August 03, 2002: Message edited by: Roseanne Zhang ]