biosci

I think that the important thing to remember is that every undergraduate school has its advantages and disadvantages, and there are many reasons to choose which college to go to besides prestige and SAT scores/high school GPA - reasons including cost, size, location, etc. For example, I chose to go to a small liberal arts school close to home for all of these reasons.  My school isn't well known nationally or anything but it has been a great fit for me and I have had to work hard for my grades.  I am sure that grade deflation and inflation are real issues, but I don't think that a 4.0 from an Ivy should be valued more than a 4.0 from my school just because it's from an Ivy.  Yes, I assume it can be hard for ad-coms to compare GPAs if they don't know the schools, but if you are from a well-known school they probably know if your school has grade deflation.  Besides, GPA is only one part of the application and, from what I have heard, your research experience matters more.  Coming from a prestigious school, you likely have more opportunities for cutting-edge research.  
Regardless, all of this trying to compare schools is besides the point.  We should focus on the benefits of our chosen institutions and use the resources we have.  

I think that the important thing to remember is that every undergraduate school has its advantages and disadvantages, and there are many reasons to choose which college to go to besides prestige and SAT scores/high school GPA - reasons including cost, size, location, etc. For example, I chose to go to a small liberal arts school close to home for all of these reasons.  My school isn't well known nationally or anything but it has been a great fit for me and I have had to work hard for my grades.  I am sure that grade deflation and inflation are real issues, but I don't think that a 4.0 from an Ivy should be valued more than a 4.0 from my school just because it's from an Ivy.  Yes, I assume it can be hard for ad-coms to compare GPAs if they don't know the schools, but if you are from a well-known school they probably know if your school has grade deflation.  Besides, GPA is only one part of the application and, from what I have heard, your research experience matters more.  Coming from a prestigious school, you likely have more opportunities for cutting-edge research.  
Regardless, all of this trying to compare schools is besides the point.  We should focus on the benefits of our chosen institutions and use the resources we have.  

I think that the important thing to remember is that every undergraduate school has its advantages and disadvantages, and there are many reasons to choose which college to go to besides prestige and SAT scores/high school GPA - reasons including cost, size, location, etc. For example, I chose to go to a small liberal arts school close to home for all of these reasons.  My school isn't well known nationally or anything but it has been a great fit for me and I have had to work hard for my grades.  I am sure that grade deflation and inflation are real issues, but I don't think that a 4.0 from an Ivy should be valued more than a 4.0 from my school just because it's from an Ivy.  Yes, I assume it can be hard for ad-coms to compare GPAs if they don't know the schools, but if you are from a well-known school they probably know if your school has grade deflation.  Besides, GPA is only one part of the application and, from what I have heard, your research experience matters more.  Coming from a prestigious school, you likely have more opportunities for cutting-edge research.  
Regardless, all of this trying to compare schools is besides the point.  We should focus on the benefits of our chosen institutions and use the resources we have.  

I too have finals next week and am having problems focusing... should probably stay off of this site.... Luckily my hardest final is Monday morning and the invites won't be coming over the weekend, so the e-mail refreshing is on hold :)

I would definitely apply again (but maybe to less prestigious schools).  I would probably either work as a research assistant or apply for the NIH IRTA

Yes!  For a while it wasn't showing that my app was submitted - now that is fixed but one of my letters of LoRs isn't showing a checkmark even though it is showing "Received (Official)"
I sent an eTranscript a couple weeks ago and am still waiting for it to be processed.  It is still showing received (unofficial).