<p>Graduate course work is a plus because it demonstrates your ability to work with the material on that level. Nearly every single chemistry concentrator at Brown, for instance, takes at least one, and often several, graduate level courses.</p>
<p>The way you figure it out is through reading and research like most people do when looking for colleges. Look first for other criteria-- you’re a junior and you’re not even sure what you’re going to do yet and it’s a long way off. Once you find schools that you feel are general fits, start to zero in on the experience as a scientist on that campus.</p>
<p>In general, I think the smaller research universities offer the best opportunities for undergraduates to get real hands-on research experience, strong mentoring and advising, and access to opportunities like graduate courses.</p>
<p>Schools like Reed don’t offer graduate level courses, but their entire education system is way more similar to graduate school than most undergraduate institutions are. The assumption that you’re there to learn and are intrinsically invested in your work, the thesis preparation and defense process, etc, are all authentic recreation of elements of a graduate education and will demonstrate your ability to perform at graduate school.</p>