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<p>Chiming in here to add that sometimes the quality of the undergrad experience (and along with that, the reputation of the undergrad institution) can play a large part in a student’s getting admitted to a fully funded grad program. In our case, we are convinced that our financial sacrifice in sending our D to a quality undergrad program (Barnard) essentially “paid for” her graduate degree program, which is a fully funded PhD program at a very well respected university. </p>