Do state public schools really vary all that much from state to state?

[spurster]

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i’m not really sure if data for that even exists, but i’m speaking more out of experience (well, not personal experience, but i know people who have gone through it). i know someone who went to michigan state university, got a 3.9 GPA and got denied from stanford…while another person i know who went to notre dame & got a 3.8 GPA not only got into stanford, but most of the ivy grad schools as well. as far as i know, they were involved in about the same amount of clubs and extra activities. in fact i think that the guy from michigan state got a few more awards than the guy at notre dame.
although the person from michigan state did go on to get into very good grad schools, he didn’t get into the top ivies like the guy from ND did (even with a lower GPA).
i’m not sure if this is the norm, but it sort of left me with the impression that people who go to higher ranked colleges have a better chance at top grad schools even with a slightly lower GPA.

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<p>The small difference in GPA is of small significance. Graduate programs mostly couldn’t care less about clubs or ECs unless there is some connection with research. More likely reasons are one had a better research statement, had better letters of recommendation, or had much better GREs.</p>