<p>
Indeed. Harvard does perfectly fine in graduate admissions:</p>
<p>PhD production statistics for Harvard:</p>
<p>Anthropology #6
Biology #5
Economics #2
English #11
History #5
Languages #8
Math/Comp Sci #4
Music/Art #14
Physics #8
Political science #2
Sociology #9
Total #7</p>
<p>Source: interesteddad’s calculations</p>
<p>Harvard is not, however, the ONLY college that does well. You’ll note that there’s at least 5 or 6 schools ahead of Harvard in some areas. These are filled by colleges like Grinnell, Swarthmore, Carleton, and a lot of other great schools…so no, you don’t need to attend a top university for undergrad. Luckily the US has a rather large number of great options. ;)</p>
<p>That said, top colleges (Ivies receive no additional edge) do have some very real advantages for a pre-grad student. Not all letters of recommendation are created equal – a letter from Big Name Prof counts for a lot more than a letter from Podunk Prof, and the former is more likely to be teaching at Harvard than, say, Illinois State. Furthermore, top colleges are more likely to offer funded research opportunities, as they often have more resources and money at their disposal. Many graduate programs are admitting 2 or 3 applicants out of a hundred or more; it’s a bit silly not to give yourself every possible leg up.</p>