<p>As an indirect response, I’m going to post something here I’ve posted elsewhere. The most prestigious undergraduate prize you can win is the Rhodes Scholarship:</p>
<p>(The University of Iowa is not beating UChicago.)</p>
<p>Rhodes Scholars Winners Since 2000 by School</p>
<p>Harvard 38
Yale 26
Stanford 18
West Point 17
UChicago 15
Princeton 15
Duke 13
Naval Academy 12
MIT 11
Columbia 7
Brown 7
Air Force Academy 5
Dartmouth 5
Cornell 3
Northwestern 3
Penn 2
Berkeley 2
Caltech 2</p>
<p>Per capita would make it meaningful. Hint!</p>
<p>E.g., 10 of 5,000 is greater than 20 of 20,000.</p>
<p>oldarnold,</p>
<p>PhD admissions,as opposed to more formulaic professional school admissions, especially law school, are based on faculty review/assessment, with much more focus on recommendations and undergrad research experience than on GPA. It’s especially meaningful to have recommendations from folks known to faculty where you apply.</p>
<p>Seriously? My dream is to get a PhD in Biology one day. Does this mean that I could have a stronger chance of getting into a top PhD program from University of Chicago than Iowa?</p>
<p>A bio admissions committee cares much less about where you went and much more about what you did as an undergrad. </p>
<p>Best way to get into a top program is to show, as an undergrad, that you can do research. How do you do that? Simple, work in a lab and show your stuff, if you have it. Get a publication in a top journal and you can write your ticket. Not many undergrads can do that, though. Instead, they impress the heck out of the lab head and get a glowing recommendation.</p>
<p>Another way to do research is to attend one of the schools that requires all undergrads to write a masters-level research thesis.</p>