<p>Lately, I have been fretting about grad school, as in: How hard will I have to work to get into a good graduate school? Is it harder to get into then undergraduate? My question is that since Chicago has really good economics, law, and physical science graduate schools, is it much easier to get into them if I did well at their undergraduate college? Will other graduate schools see U Chicago and think "wow, they are as good as we are (HYPSMC), better take him over a similar student from this state school." I shouldn't be worried about it now, but I really want to go to graduate school, and if UChicago prefers their college grads, then at least I will have a boost at these grad schools. Anyone else looking at colleges and choosing partly based on their grad programs? OK, that is all.</p>
<p>Of course colleges are going to put UChicago above most random state schools (except perhaps the "elite" ones), and in most majors on par with HYPSM. In terms of actual GPA, people from Chicago usually get in to good grad schools with lower GPAs than those from the "elite five" (except for perhaps MIT, which has little inflation compared to the other four) - any good grad school adcom knows which colleges have the toughest grading system, and Chicago in particular is notorious for not inflating its grades.</p>
<p>This is a pretty sad thing to worry about. I am more of a type that says to follow your your interests. But if you want good grad school rates, you can handicap it yourself and not resort to opinions.</p>
<p>Grad school, as opposed to professional school, is much less "GPA" driven, and more driven by a host of other factors. My background is sciences, but my comments can equally well apply to non sciences. </p>
<p>Factors that matter:</p>
<ul>
<li> your undergrad faculty contacts and their connections.</li>
<li> your performance in courses relevant to your grad program, not necessarily just your major </li>
<li> relevant work (read: research) done as an undergrad.</li>
<li> for top programs, interviews.</li>
<li> contacts at professional meetings. For example, an undergrad presenting research work at a national or regional meeting. It does happen, and quite frequently.</li>
</ul>
<p>One way to view grad school is that, for top programs, getting in is a lot like job hunting. Contacts, networks, experience and performance all matter. Very little about it is formulaic, unlike, say, med school.</p>