PhD school is ranked lower than undergrad

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on concerns about the impact of undergraduate institution ranking on future PhD program admissions and job prospects. The individual expresses doubts about their ability to gain admission to a high-ranking PhD program due to an acceptable but not outstanding GPA and research experience. There is a focus on the perception that the institution where one completes a PhD may significantly influence academic job prospects, particularly for professor roles, where higher-ranked universities are often favored. However, it is noted that for industry jobs, the relevance of research experience is more critical than the institution's ranking. Ultimately, in academia, grades and research quality are emphasized as more important factors than the prestige of the last institution attended.
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I am an undergrad at a pretty high ranking university, my GPA is acceptable but not phenomenal, and my research history, while it's there, is not phenomenal either. I don't think I will be able to get into a PhD program anywhere close to the ranking of my current institution. But I do want to do PhD because I enjoy research.

For job prospects after PhD, how true is the idea that my last institution is the most important one, and if it is significantly worse than my penultimate institution, it is seen as bad?
 
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You are talking about job prospects for being a professor? In that case, I think many have come from higher ranked universities.

For industry jobs its probably more important that your research is relevant to the industry.
 
Generally, no, it won't be seen as "bad". The things that really matter for prospective hirers in academia, more so than what institution you attend(ed), is your grades and research.
 
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