<p>I'm looking to get a degree in chemistry and have aspirations of going on to get a Masters and hopefully a Ph.D.</p>
<p>If I want to get into a top flight graduate school, how much does my choice of college for my undergraduate degree really matter?</p>
<p>As an example, let's pretend that I want to go to grad school at University of Chicago.</p>
<p>Let's also pretend that I get my B.S. from East Carolina rather than UNC-CH. And let's assume that I do well in my undergraduate studies.</p>
<p>How much would the fact that I graduated from ECU (rather than a more prestigious school like UNC-CH) hurt my chances to get into a school like UC (or other top flight grad school, including the Ivies)?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The strength of one’s undergraduate program does significantly affect Ph.D. program admittance chances.</p>
<p>How is strength of undergraduate program rated?</p>
<p>I see the Gourman Report but question the usefulness/validity of it. Are there other sources specific to degrees?</p>
<p>And for large “general” degrees like chemistry (or psychology, etc.) I am wondering how much weight that carries, assuming you do very well regardless of where you go.</p>
<p>Or is it simply a matter of the US News and World Report rankings being in play for these types of undergraduate degrees.</p>
<p>(As an example, my cousin’s roommate is now attending Harvard Law School after attending a so-called “third tier” university for her undergraduate degree. Is that really off the norm?)</p>
<p>Some old but perhaps still useful graduate rankings for chemistry: [NRC</a> Rankings in Chemistry](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area28.html]NRC”>http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area28.html)</p>
<p>Many less-than-exclusive schools still have very strong programs.</p>
<p>As long as you go to a research institution and are able to actually do research (and get good grades) you won’t have a problem getting into a good PhD program.</p>