<p>Is it really important the rank of the school you will go to (graduate) even you're looking into a Ph.D. career?</p>
<p>I mean, top schools are too expensive and often it seems impossible to obtain funds. Doesn't seem better going to a less ranked school, paying less money and maybe obtaining funds?</p>
<p>You go where the fit is best - where they are studying what you want to research, where you have a good fit with the professors and the academic environment. And where you have funding.</p>
<p>The ranking thing? It does matter a bit - people outside your field will judge your degree by the rank/rep of the university, people in the field will base it on your program strength, people in your subfield will base it on your advisor. The handful who actually glance over your thesis will judge you on the quality of your work.</p>
<p>Remember that when you apply to jobs, a lot of them will value the rank/rep of the school - universities love to say “our professors went to Harvard!” and your mom will like it too.</p>
<p>My suggestion? Ignore the rankings during application other than to have a spread and make sure you have some “safety” schools and some “reach” schools. When choosing, go with ranking only after you have settled the more important issues.</p>