<p>I know almost nothing about grad school admissions first-hand, but nmd, what you’re describing seems to be similar to the processes that other current and former grad students have described to me, as well as what I’ve gleaned from other CC-like forums designed more for grad students.</p>
<p>It seems, for example, that there’s a lot less emphasis on prestige of the school or GPA undergrad. For example there are schools that schools CC-ers tend to put at the bottom of the pile (a school like UCSD, for example) that would be deemed sufficiently prestigious by the other forum-goers. Where they get really one-uppy and nitpicky with each other is on things like statements of purpose, knowledge of the field, etc. The evaluative emphasis seems to be entirely redistributed, and very much in the favor of somebody who has had the U of C experience.</p>
<p>My friends who have applied to academic-based grad schools have done extraordinarily well— the offers and the money have seemed to have floated down from heaven.</p>