<p>I really made some bad decisions recently that I think might result in me not making into my dream schools for undergrad. If I end up attending a less academically rigorous school like UBC (University of British Columbia) or Emory, will it still be possible for me to attend a top graduate school? </p>
<p>Actually, let me rephrase my question, I know it would still be "possible", but would it be probable if I work really hard and maintain excellent grades?</p>
<p>personally know someone who got into Duke for grad school after going to a state school (less prestigious than UVA, UNC, UW, UMich, etc.) without curing cancer in the meantime. you could also ask universities what type of grad schools their alums have attended, and how often.</p>
<p>Emory and UBC are excellent schools, and either would provide you with a first-rate education. I think you have an extremely skewed vision of what a good education is.</p>
<p>In any case, graduate admissions (which should not be confused with professional admissions!) is not particularly picky about undergraduate alma maters except in the hypercompetitive humanities fields. (It must be said, however, that it is easier to get into top programs in any field from elite schools because such universities tend to have top-notch faculty and excellent research opportunities.)</p>
<p>It is all a filtering process. The reason that many people in top graduate schools were in top colleges is because you need to be very driven, intelligent, hard working, etc. to get into those colleges. Successful people go to top colleges, but even if they choose to go to a local state school, successful people remain successful and can still go to top graduate schools.</p>
<p>It is very possible that you can go to a good graduate school if you have a decent record at your undergraduate college. As IBclass06 mentioned, for the most part, graduate schools do not put as much weight on where you went for undergraduate studies as you think.</p>
<p>Yes, it is.</p>