<p>Yeah, I understand. It's pretty much like getting a headstart if you start at an Ivy level.
Thanks man.</p>
<p>To med schools, it doesn't really matter. My cousin, who is at harvard and got nearly straight As is now at a top med school. His friend went to UT austin got straight As there and is now at the same med school</p>
<p>Grats to both.
That's funny how you say UT of Austin. I'm moving to Dallas at the end of the school year, and I was imagining if I should go to UT of Austin since the top 10% of the class are automatically accepted to Texas Universities.</p>
<p>UT-Austin is one of the better schools in the country, so the comparison doesn't work quite as well, but I still get your point.</p>
<p>It matters where you go to school, (atmosphere, fit, strength of major department, location) but that doesn't mean the most prestigious school is always the better choice. Those are two different questions.</p>
<p>this topic is similar to the question in my head these days. my friend told me she was not gonna go to any top schools for undergrad, so she chose an average school (low SAT, GPA required, many students in my school were admitted to it). She said that she only needed good grad schools for MBA. But I think undergrad school is important too. There you have good friends, environment and motivation.</p>
<p>Ok.
So this is pretty much my final resolution/question.
If I were to go to a top college, let's say Vandy in this case. I pull it off with a 3.7-4.0. Is that good enough right there to get to a Top MBA program from a recongized and well respected top college?
Vandy would fit in the T-25 I presume and it's one of the colleges I am focusing on learning more about because it seems to fit my needs as an undergrad school.
Thanks.</p>
<p>Edit: I guess a two-parter here would be: If you are graduating from any TOP undergrad school (T-25) with a high GPA ranging from 3.5-4.0, are your chances of getting into your dream MBA program very high?
And let's say your EC's are great, just like everyones.</p>
<p>Work experience is a significant factor in MBA admissions, so the question would be if you and your undergrad degree will be good enough to get a good job.</p>
<p>Well, even if the undergrad matters less, it's easier in most cases to get into an undergrad program anyway, so the road will just get harder.</p>
<p>Yeah I know that.
So..whats the answer to the above question.</p>
<p>bump please..very curious of above Q.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UT-Austin is one of the better schools in the country, so the comparison doesn't work quite as well, but I still get your point.
[/quote]
Harvard is a lot harder to get into than UT Austin</p>
<p>Agreed, but both of them are still top-tier colleges.</p>
<p>so what is the boundary between top-tier and non top-tier colleges?</p>
<p>Like everyone said Grad School> undergrad. Yet, Undergrad is still very important for getting that first job, getting into that top grad school and so on. I have a friend who worked his way through University of Maryland, got a 4.0 for all 4 years and did amazing on the LSATs and he ended up at Stanford. For him, going to Stanford allowed him to be extremely successful, but the kicker is it worked out for him. How many kids go to a great grad school from Maryland--not so many. So basically if you can, go to the best undergrad school possible, because worst case scenario it makes no difference in your life and best case scenario it sets you up for great opportunities later in life. There are no guarantees, but attending Harvard will give you much more of a leg up than U mass...so if you can, why not go?</p>
<p>Top students tend to go to top undergrad schools and (if they do grad school), they go on to top grad schools, not necessarily because they came from a top undergrad school but because they were/are top students to start with. </p>
<p>If a top student happens to not go to a top undergrad school for some reason (eg financial, personal, bad luck), then that top student will probably do well when it comes to grad school, though as has been pointed out, his/her path will be a little bit more difficult. </p>
<p>If you take the top 1% of 10000 students and then make a class of 100, then someone will come in 100th, but that person will still be in the top 1% of the general student population. That is why bad grades from top schools don't hurt the students as much, and good grades from bad schools don't carry as much weight.</p>
<p>
[quote]
so what is the boundary between top-tier and non top-tier colleges?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>When I was using the term "top-tier", I was referring to the top 20-30 schools. I assume the OP was thinking about the difference between going to one of those and one that was significantly cheaper with a very significant difference in reputation. Harvard to UT-Austin doesn't fit that criteria.</p>
<p>I like Vanderbilt for it's academic excellence as well as it's greek life. That's the only reason I even consider that school. uVA is also a school I would consider too because of it's social/greek life.
Wouldn't these two schools be considered top tier and be easier to get into a top grad school like Standford business? Or are you only talking about Ivy League status undergrad schools?
Much help appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>vanderbilt and UVa will not carry the same "name" for grad school They are great schools and recognized as such, so even while they will help (more than most schools), its still not the same as Ivy. My advice find a group of schools you like the most and go to the best one. I promise you will have just as much fun at those schools as you would at a place like Dartmouth and U Penn.</p>
<p>no no..I'm talking about undergrad.
I want to go to a good undergrad school that it T-25, but the best as possible, while maintaining a huge greek life.
I'm not attenting their grad schools, just undergrad.</p>