Sorry if my questions are unspecific but what undergraduate programs would be considered competitive for the very, very top PhD programs? Is it based on undergraduate prestige? Graduate school ranking? Or is it mostly case-by-case?
Would there be a list of places that will do as well or better than Berkeley for phd admissions? Would a school like Northwestern be better? Does it not really matter?
I'm currently a California community college student looking to transfer into a 4-year university. I'm starting to think about reach schools to apply to. Through the lens of phd admissions, which schools would be worth going to over UC Berkeley?