How to Improve Your Chances of Admission to Graduate School

Graduate school admissions can be competitive. Turn the odds in your favor by taking these steps.

Things You'll Need

• Postage Stamps
• Envelopes
• Personal Organizers
• GRE
• Grad School Aptitude Tests

Instructions

1. Study hard in college. Admissions committees like to see good grades.

2. Prepare well for the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) (see Related eHows).

3. Form good relationships with your professors (see Related eHows): Visit office hours regularly and keep in touch. Recommendation letters are a vital part of any graduate school application.

4. Contact your professors as soon as you know you'll need recommendation letters from them. Provide them with addressed, stamped envelopes for the letters.

5. Research the work done by the professors at the schools to which you're applying.

6. Contact those professors, and mention their work. Not only will you ingratiate yourself, but the professor will also remember you better if he or she can put a voice - or better yet a face - to an application.

7. Talk to current graduate students where you're applying; they may have some helpful tips for you.

8. Keep track of all your deadlines and be sure to meet them all.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit as many schools as possible in order to meet professors and graduate students face to face and to get a feel for the department's vibe.

• Take the GRE early, so that you can take it again if you aren't satisfied with your scores.

• If you decide relatively late in your college career that you're interested in graduate school in a discipline other than your major, consider taking an extra year to finish college and do the necessary coursework. Alternatively, finish out your degree and stick around for another year to earn a second bachelor's degree.

• If you're not sure graduate school is for you, take some time off after college to figure out if it's what you want.