<p>Like, an amazing UW GPA and some sick extra curriculars and reccomendations and whatever else those grad school people want could toootally get someone into an Ivy grad school, right? Such as… Stanford? For a URM female communications/broadcast journalism major?</p>
<p>I’m trying to devise a plan. I’m going to be a senior in three days, and although my parents are hellbent on me applying to Ivies right off the bat, I don’t have the grades or the desire. I wanted to go to USC at first but even that would be a reach (shorter reach than an Ivy, but a reach none the less) and my parents won’t let me visit because they’re so against me going anywhere in SoCal. I just don’t feel like I can go to a school that I haven’t visited! UW, on the other hand, I’ve lived walking-distance from for the majority of my life. I love Seattle, DEARLY, but I don’t want to end up on local acess cable or anything like that, so I want to go someplace ultra-respectable for that masters degree.</p>
<p>I think you’ll find that grad schools (even Ivy-caliber) care more about your actual performance than where you’re coming from. UW is definitely reputable enough that Stanford won’t look down on you and make it harder for you to get in. Also, Stanford will know more about UW than other schools would just because of the proximity (Pac-10 and everything).</p>
<p>A degree from UW is a well-regarded degree by grad school admissions offices. I think you’d have an especially good chance at Stanford, but believe me, the Ivies have heard of it too.</p>
<p>Don’t center everything you do around the Ivies, going to them is not that important in the scheme of life. But if you do want to go, having done undergrad at the UW won’t be an disadvantage, so long as you do incredibly well at the UW.</p>
<p>It’s definitely doable. Just because you don’t get a degree from an Ivy League doesn’t mean you’ll end up on some unwatched channel.</p>
<p>By the way, I agree with that thing you said about Seattle. It has its charm. I’ve lived across the water in Bellevue most of my life, and currently live in Texas (moved because of how &$%^ expensive the Seattle area is). I’m also looking to apply to UW. :)</p>