Could not fit full question in the title. Here it is: how important is the ranking of a university, where I got my undergraduate degree, when applying to graduate school?
What if I have a solid research experience and strong letters of recommendation, but my university ranks very low (just in the top 500 in the world) in almost all rankings.
Should I worry about it or even consider transferring to a more prestigious university?
I think as long as your university has a solid reputation (i.e it is accredited properly and not a scam university/diploma mill) you will be okay. Solid research experience (preferably several years) and great letters of recommendation are much more important than where you went to school. Also keep in mind that GPA is important as well as good GRE scores. GPA/GRE scores won’t get you in, but they can keep you out of grad school!
This is absolutely correct. Your undergraduate institution is not as important as your performance there.
Go where you have the best chance of really learning the material.
The most crowded bus doesn’t always go where I want, nor does the least - but either might.
Figure out what environment will help you master the ideas, and push for a school in that mold.
My $0.02
Does this mean it’s not in the USA?
It’s unclear exactly how many universities are in the world; a low estimate is 7,500, and a high estimate is over 50,000. However, even a low estimate of 7,500 would put a university in the top 500 in the top 10% of universities in the entire world.
Furthermore, U.S. universities in the 401-500 category of the Shanghai rankings (if that’s what you are referring to) tend to be well-regarded here. Examples are Syracuse, Boston College, Clemson, Kent State, and University of Oklahoma.
It probably depends on how graduates from your undergrad school have done in the past. So, find out from your college where past graduates have gone and done well. Applying to those schools will be your safest bet.
On the other hand, if your research has been published or you have strong LORs from known faculty or won national titles in your field and have comparably high GRE scores etc then apply to higher ranked graduate programs too.
^I sort of halfway agree. Graduate programs do like applicants from schools that they regard highly; if they perceive the training from a particular undergrad school as very good, they will take more seriously applicants from that school. However, that has several caveats. Fist of all, the schools they regard well might be different from what you’d expect - not just Harvard and Michigan, for example, but small regional publics and unknown privates that have provided great students before. My college is mid-ranked in the liberal arts colleges rankings but was well-known to my advisors for turning out great, strong students.
The other thing is that just because a student from your school has never gone to a top program doesn’t meant you can’t be the first. It could be more of a selection bias - e.g., students from Harvard are more likely to want to go to grad school; students from Kent State may be more inclined to go to work straight out of undergrad. But if you are an accomplished student from Kent State (and that doesn’t have to mean national publications or prize-winning faculty advisors), you can still be admitted.
What I was getting at with regards to the USA question is the citizenship of the student which can definitely have an impact.
I was probably not very clear. In your case, it appears your alma mater had a good reputation (well known to your advisors for turning out great, strong students). My point was that if a positive rep has not been established then what? This is particularly true for international applicants since institutions in the third world (China India etc) might be unknown to our admissions. In such cases, where the reputation hasn’t been established, I was saying it will be tuff getting in unless one has strong LORs from a reputable faculty member or published research and or won national competitions.
So, how does an international applicant know whether his or her institution has a positive reputation at a particular graduate school? I was suggesting that they check with their undergraduate college and find out if past graduates have gone to that particular grad school and done well.