<p>Brandeis is a very well-respected school outside of Boston (and my d loves the campus - she'll be applying there). However, regardless of where you go, no one can "easily" get into Harvard, Yale or Penn's graduate school. One benefit that Brandeis does have, though, is that Harvard and Yale know it well. If it were anywhere other than next door to Harvard and not that far from Yale, its national reputation would be much higher.</p>