<p>I was actually going to say “are you just trying to argue to argue?” Then I saw you type it. I guess we’re going nowhere.</p>
<p>You’re using faulty logic and putting an obnoxious amount of weight on something that is only one element (and a small factor most of the time) of an application and NOT a deal breaker. You’re making anyone who reads this think they should kill themselves if they want to go to grad school but don’t go to a top school.</p>
<p>Regarding your three points:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Research isn’t the key to graduate school. It’s not even really a factor for MBA admissions which was your favorite example. It is totally unimportant for med school, where GPA/scores are the almost the only factors (a certain amount of clinical experience is important but it’s more like a prereq than a factor in your chances). It’s not the “key” to any other professional school. It is a factor for MS admissions but only one of the factors and the prestige of your school/research isn’t going to cripple an application.</p></li>
<li><p>“More favorable,” but not necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>Truth be told, rigor at higher ranked schools isn’t so different from lower ranked public schools, and professors/admissions know this. I know you love to think whatever school you’re going to/went to was “so hard,” but it’s probably not that much harder. This is reflected in the credentials of who is admitted to graduate schools from lower ranked public schools, and the personal experiences of transfer students everywhere. That data doesn’t exist, but if you personally know anyone who was admitted to a top grad school from a lower ranked school, you can see that they had similar credentials to the median GPA/standardized scores that the school does provide. I know many such people.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Random fun fact (not directly related to my argument): You’re more likely to be admitted to an Ivy League school from a CC than a four-year university.</p>
<p>*I’m no longer reading this thread after this post.</p>