<p>Agreed with 1rst post. Imo, the name of the game is getting into graduate school and you have to get good grades in undergrad school. Going to an excellent/hard undergrad school can sometimes be the wrong choice b/c its hard to get good grades which is bad news for getting into grad school. My mom told me that ppl never ask her where she did her bachelors, instead only where she did her masters. She went to Northern AZ uni for undergrad… I’ve heard that ppl who went there got into stanford for grad school 
Ofc, going to a brandname college is always nice :D:D:D:D:D</p>
<p>You have to consider M4 that the academic rigor of the undergraduate school someone attends when applying to grad school does make a significant impact. Getting straight A’s at Northridge is great and all, and it looks good for grad schools, yet getting mostly B+/ A- at Stanford or Berkeley will look just as good, if not slightly better. It shows that you went to a more competitive school with more pressure, and you still did relatively well.</p>
<p>However, I do agree with you that it is sometimes better to go to a Tier 2 university, a less rigorous LAC, or even just a smaller undergraduate college if you are not as competitive by nature or you flourish more with more attention from professors and TAs. Then it would be a wise decision to attend such places in order to maintain a higher GPA and maximize chances at a good graduate or professional school.</p>
<p>really, the majority of grad schools wont care where you went for undergrad. as long as it’s an accredited four year degree. and as long as you did well in your school environment. a 4.0 at the local state U is still better than a 3.8 at harvard. I’m not saying that school prestige has absolutely no play in your acceptance but it’s not going to be much of an advantage. so don’t count on that when applying to undergrad schools</p>
<p>The economic impact of the entire UC system to the state of California is far greater than the sum of its constituents. California couldn’t boast its technological, cultural and political importance without fostering the education of UC alumni who give back to the state’s economy. :rolleyes:</p>