Hello. I plan on attendingi UCSD as a human biology major and then plan on attending law or medical school thereafter. I’d like to know if top graduate schools (ivy leagues and top UCs) care more about where I went to undergrad or my grades in undergrad. For example, will Harvard law be more likely to accept someone from UCSD with straight A’s or someone from Brown with a not so perfect GPA?
The problem is that you are much more likely to get good GPA at Brown than at UCSD. For example in 2012 the average GPA at Brown is 3.63 vs 3.07 at UCSD. If you are attending UCSD with the hope of getting into medical or law school you are likely facing a double whammy of both lower GPA and school prestige.
Exactly as @jzducol writes. Especially in the non-STEM fields, grading in the Ivy League is extraordinarily easy. Take it from me 
(Princeton is a slight exception, but still nothing like the competition at a UC.)
Part of the overall strength of your grad school application will be how you do on the appropriate exams as well as your letters of recommendations, activities/internship/leadership roles as an undergraduate.
Yes I see. But how about a 3.8 from UCSD vs a 3.5-3.6 from UCLA or UC Berkeley?
Law and medical school are more GPA focused. Brown is probably one of the better schools to pad one’s GPA in, because the open curriculum means that it is easy to cherry pick electives (outside of major requirements and pre-med requirements for pre-meds) that one can earn A grades more easily in (as opposed to having general education requirements that may include areas that are more difficult for the given student to earn A grades in).
Some other graduate programs may be more concerned about your undergraduate school (usually in-major, rather than overall). PhD programs in some subjects seem to have this reputation.
Law school is highly stats focused.
For med school, you need the stats but also research and medical ECs.
And why would you think getting a higher GPA would be harder at Cal/UCLA than UCSD?
You may have to examine your assumptions.
@PurpleTitan Cal and UCLA are both known for being extremely difficcult in terms of getting good grades, and it is typically much easier to get good grades at a lower level UC
UCSD isn’t exactly a lower-level UC.
@Sbp325 , I know you must be joking about getting a higher GPA at UCSD vs UCLA/Cal for Bio in particular right? :). consider yourself extremely lucky to be accepted to one of the best STEM schools in the country, just because somehow you background matches to what they are hoping for that could fit into their community. Best of luck
@CollegeSpec I know UCSD bio is going to be difficult, however GPA will encompass allmy classes and I’ve heard that basic GE classes are much more difficult at colleges such as UCLA and UCB in comparison to UCSD.
@Sbp325 what college are you in at UCSD? A lot of the GEs at UCSD are notoriously difficult, I really don’t know where you got that idea. Just Google “Revelle HUM hard” to get an idea of what I mean. I can categorically state that the school is as academically challenging as UCLA or UC Berkeley.
There would be other reasons to attend, though. UCSD culture places a heavy emphasis on getting into research labs, and it’s also not “cutthroat” in the very selfish sense I’ve heard about at some other schools. There’s a medical school and four hospitals on or adjacent to a campus, which will give you more opportunities for resume padding than Berkeley would. There are also a lot of bio firms and nonprofits in the area, meaning you could have a better shot at an internship than you would in LA. Additionally, it’s right by the beach, it’s cleaner than Berkeley and less congested than LA—but again, those schools have their perks too. Figure out what’s right for you, but don’t assume that you’ll have an easier time at UCSD or you’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Both are good serious R1 schools. I don’t really think it’s going to make a huge amount of difference as long as you do all the right things as an undergrad. If there is a financial advantage to going to one over the other, that may be more important.
@Sbp325 , apparently you’ve received false information regarding GE classes are much more difficult at UCLA or Cal. I would argue GE classes across all UC’s are the same. Generally speaking, private schools (like the Ivy’s) usually give you higher GPA’s comparing to public schools. Does that mean MIT is now ‘easier’ than UCSD? There’s no such thing, harder or easier. So now we are talking whether student body and the professors that make the difference. again, if you look at the average SAT / GPA for the admitted students among the three, there’s hardly much difference. The whole reason why you are accepted here vs there, is probably not score related…so…it’s probably related to what they think of you as a whole whether you could fit into their community or not…