We know that graduate school admissions in science went way up in 2006 and that's a good thing. Bring more scientists into the US, make them citizens, and we can stop talking about how we need to magically make more people already here interested in science careers. Julianne on CosmicVariance.com does an interesting article about The Other Side of Graduate Admissions. It's all what you'd expect, a fairly linear system of getting wheat from chaff but it's a frank discussion on why some years you'll get in and sometimes you would not, even if your scores are good. I was also interested in Lee Sawyer's comment about the difficulties of finding quality grad students at a smaller school. In the private sector, we do not give a crap what school you went to - honestly, it makes no difference. There is an obvious upside to having someone I know and trust as an advisor but there is no downside to the school. We do interviews, ask questions, and give a test. We also use a 'gauntlet' committee with different personality types to see how everyone reacts. So my advice to students? Go somewhere. Unless you're then trying to get a job at a university where the people there have to protect their fiefdom by being elitist about where you went, your personal knowledge and ability to get things done will count more than the name on your diploma. Well, make sure it's your name on the diploma. The school name is not so important.