So Ivy league schools are for graduate level

College Search & Lists
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<p>quote from a professor at an Ivy Leage School, Parent forum:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767118-under-3-6-gpa-applying-top-20-parents-thread-146.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/767118-under-3-6-gpa-applying-top-20-parents-thread-146.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Post #2189:</p>

<p>“I teach at the graduate level at an ivy league school, and I can tell you that many of my graduate students have not gone to top rated undergrad institutions, but are very bright.”</p>

<p>NEmomof2</p>

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<p>They have both graduate and undergraduate programs. Was that a question?</p>

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<p>The point was people should pay attention to their long term educational goal in selecting their under grad and grad programs and schools
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/908018-harvard-not-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/908018-harvard-not-harvard.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>

Indeed. Harvard does perfectly fine in graduate admissions:</p>

<p>PhD production statistics for Harvard:</p>

<p>Anthropology #6
Biology #5
Economics #2
English #11
History #5
Languages #8
Math/Comp Sci #4
Music/Art #14
Physics #8
Political science #2
Sociology #9
Total #7</p>

<p>Source: interesteddad’s calculations</p>

<p>Harvard is not, however, the ONLY college that does well. You’ll note that there’s at least 5 or 6 schools ahead of Harvard in some areas. These are filled by colleges like Grinnell, Swarthmore, Carleton, and a lot of other great schools…so no, you don’t need to attend a top university for undergrad. Luckily the US has a rather large number of great options. ;)</p>

<p>That said, top colleges (Ivies receive no additional edge) do have some very real advantages for a pre-grad student. Not all letters of recommendation are created equal – a letter from Big Name Prof counts for a lot more than a letter from Podunk Prof, and the former is more likely to be teaching at Harvard than, say, Illinois State. Furthermore, top colleges are more likely to offer funded research opportunities, as they often have more resources and money at their disposal. Many graduate programs are admitting 2 or 3 applicants out of a hundred or more; it’s a bit silly not to give yourself every possible leg up.</p>

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<p>He’s saying that you don’t need to go to an elite school to get into an elite school for graduate degrees.</p>

<p>People’s minds are so messed up…</p>