<p>I brought up the schools I did because the OP mentioned them in the first place. </p>
<p>There are certainly many wonderful places to prepare for graduate work in biology. A factor that is very important, regardless of school, is the extent of undergraduate interaction with faculty, for research experience and for recommendations, as well as for general career guidance and support. Prospective students should also ask what sort of class preparation they will receive – since science advances so quickly, it is more important to be taught how to think about scientific problems than to be taught “X negatively regulates Y.” A great undergraduate biology program will teach its students to ask questions and to critically read the primary scientific literature. It’s also important to find out whether undergraduates really participate in ground-breaking research, or whether they are used as glass-washers.</p>
<p>I do think there is an advantage to going to a top undergraduate program if one is planning to attend graduate school – about half of the people I met at grad school interviews last winter were from HYPMS, and especially Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. People came to the interviews from all over, however – LACs, big state schools, local state school branches. Personal motivation is clearly a very important factor, but so are the resources available in a given undergraduate program.</p>