Hi,
When I apply to a grad school for my Master’s, will they care about the reputation of the school where I got my undergraduate degree? If yes, how much?
It is not a cut and dried answer. It depends on so many things. It depends on what type of grad school you are talking about. It depends on the college you go to, if it is a for-profit they will care yes, for example. It depends on what you did in undergrad and your letters of recommendation. Care to elaborate?
@BrownParent
Say I go to a super mediocre state university, yet graduate with a 3.5+ GPA in sciences and mediocre to good recommendation letters. Will I have a shot at the top unis like MIT or Stanford?
The short answer is yes, it’s possible. However, you should know that schools like Stanford are very very tough for everybody to get into, no matter where they are coming from, so you need to have a balanced list that includes schools from more than the top tier.
If you do well on the subject test GRE that will validate your GPA, showing that you can do well against students from all kinds of schools. Also, there are many professors even at what you term “mediocre” schools who have connections with top grad schools, and if you can get one to write you a recommendation letter attesting to your academic potential, that will be helpful. Also, try to get research experience, as that it important to top schools, and then get a letter from your supervising professor. Perhaps you can get a summer REU at a school that is strong in your discipline.
Edited to add: Take some grad classes in your discipline at your current school.
@green678
Thank you very much that was super helpful.
OP, I just want to clarify that my saying yes was in reply to your post #2, asking whether it is possible for you to get into a top program. It wasn’t in reply to the original question asking if your school rep will keep you out of a top program.
Let me also add that going for a master’s gives you a better chance than going for a phD, since most masters aren’t funded, while top phd’s are. So the competition for a phd is quite fierce.
@green678
Yeah I figured.
Also, I didn’t know that about the PhDs, so thanks again.
As others have said, there’s no clear answer. I do think that you are more likely to find a lot of very good, well-connected professors at top liberal arts schools than you are at mid-tier schools, but people in elite graduate programs come from all sorts of schools. We recently visited New College of Florida, which isn’t well-known outside the southeast (I had never heard of it until my son decided to apply there this year), and were surprised at how many graduates they sent to tippy top grad schools.).
if i was on the admissions committee for grad school i wouild have bias for kids that graduated from ivies lol
Yes, the undergrad school definitely is a factor for grad school admissions.
Again, you have to be more specific than ‘mediocre’ state uni. That means different things to different people. Usually a state uni is perfectly respectable, especially a research uni. But ‘super mediocre’ sounds like something really down there and it may make it harder if your department and your profs are completely unknown for producing good grad students. For slots at MIT and Stanford you will be competing against students from departments that have a lot of breadth and depth and opportunities.
When you are talking about MIT and Stanford the grad school is going to be extremely competitive. You cannot get in with mediocre recommendation letters. Not happening. You would have to have outstanding letters. You would also have to have research experiences. Doing research with professors is what will get you excellent letters. DWIC letters are of little to no use (Did Well In Class) for super top grad schools. If your own college doesn’t have a lot of research available, you would need to get REU’s and even if your college does it is a good way to go.
Thank you everyone you were all really helpful 