Will graduate schools in the United States and abroad accept an online college degree

[LevelUP]

Harvard has a low acceptance rate. 3.2%, and that's down from it's previous 4%+ rate. I'm not saying give up hope, I'm just saying try not to get hopes up too high.

There is no context around this number, which makes getting into Harvard sound like winning the lottery.

A student's chance of admission to Harvard can actually be as high as 75% with the right credentials. This is the reason why some students get accepted into almost all the Ivy League schools they apply to.

They are not lucky.

I did my BA online at ASU; while my transcript doesn't say that it was online, it's pretty obvious because I live on the East Coast.  I realize it's not Harvard, but I was able to get into Johns Hopkins.  They looked at my college transcript (I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA), an essay, my resume, and two recommendations.  Of course, I'm doing the program online BUT the same program is also offered on-campus.

ASU is an excellent flagship college.

However, it's worth noting that some individuals have gained admission to top colleges, like Johns Hopkins, holding a degree from SNHU.

WGU has no grades, yet lots of people get accepted into Georgia Tech which is a top 5 program.

I will say UMPI was in general MUCH easier than my previous B&M BS degree. (even the gen eds were harder at my old school) and Sophia classes were nearly a joke. I got a 4.0 without much effort but barely scraped by with a 3.4 in my previous degree. Nearly everyone on Discord or here is getting honors, whereas honors were pretty rare when I was in undergrad. There is definitely grade inflation.

Sometimes, it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

Grade inflation is prevalent even at Ivy League schools. The last thing you want to do is attend a random community college where professors play games with DFW courses that can significantly impact your GPA, putting you at risk of potential discrimination in the future.

College is somewhat of a game; you play to win and then move on with your life.

When you take responsibility for your own education, you can apply more rigor than any college could ever possibly provide.

My advice - If someone is smart, young, and has money don't even think of these schools.  These schools better suit underachievers, old people who missed the boat, or people with limited financial resources.  You are aiming for a degree to tick a box.  If you aspire to be an academic go to the best school you can afford and be prepared to work your butt off and above all write write write until you can write 20 pages without breaking a sweat.  I have a cousin who teaches at a university. In his 30 year career he has written 60 or more scholarly papers.  You don't learn how to do that banging out multiple-guess exams.  That being said, you could be the 1 out of 10,000 who turns a bottom rung degree into an academic career.

These schools better suit underachievers, old people who missed the boat, or people with limited financial resources.

The colleges we recommend are suitable for everyone. There is a debate about whether it's better to attend a ranked college (such as ASU or Penn State) for your undergraduate studies or opt for a lower-ranked undergraduate institution and then pursue a master's at a high-ranked college.

If you aspire to be an academic go to the best school you can afford and be prepared to work your butt off and above all write write write until you can write 20 pages without breaking a sweat.

Some careers you can BS your way through them by writing and talking, sure. In some careers, you actually need some skills.

Not everyone wants to become an academic.

That being said, you could be the 1 out of 10,000 who turns a bottom rung degree into an academic career.

If your goal is to become a teacher, there is nothing stopping you from achieving that with any of the colleges we recommend. However, if your ambition is to become a college professor with tenure, the odds are relatively low, regardless of the college you attend, and the 100k+ you could spend on a doctorate could potentially become a significant waste of money.

So underachieving is a goal we should aim for?  Good luck with life.  Come to think of it you might make president in the Ivy League.

Apart from being vague, it's important to explain what you mean by "underachieving" in either quantifiable or qualifiable terms?