1. Get research experience. As soon as you start considering applying to graduate programs (or to a professional school), become involved in research. Research experience in the field and/or in the laboratory ranges from desirable to critical, depending on the field you are interested in, or the professor whose laboratory you want to join. Try to work as a research assistant while you are still an undergraduate, or after graduating from college. Check with professors in the School of Life Sciences or their graduate students regarding opportunities to conduct research.

2. Contact potential faculty sponsors directly. For many graduate programs, having a faculty member who is willing to sponsor you is critical to admission. Contacting faculty directly by electronic mail or by letter is vital to securing that sponsorship. August or September is a good time to contact faculty in programs with December or January application deadlines. In your initial contact, briefly outline your reasons for wanting to work with that particular researcher, your undergraduate training, and the general research themes or questions that you would like to pursue as a graduate student.

3. Write an excellent essay.There is not a magic formula for writing a great application essay, but it is important to sound knowledgeable and enthusiastic about your proposed field of study. You do not need to have a specific research project already chosen, but briefly discussing two or three topics that interest you provides an opportunity to indicate that you are familiar with the major conceptual issues in your field(s), and that you have been thinking about your graduate career. Essays that are unfocused or too broad in scope generally do not do well. Neither do essays that leave a "Gee, grad school sounds like cool idea," or "I didn't get into med school, so I might as well apply to grad school" impression. Finally, if there are "issues" with your application (e.g., an abysmal GRE score), address those problems explicitly. Do not make excuses, but indicate why that aspect of your academic record does not adequately reflect your abilities.

4. Apply for fellowships. There are several nationally competitive fellowships available to graduate students. Sponsors include the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Find information about these and other fellowships and apply.

5. Be persistent. This statement applies at a number of levels. If you send an electronic message or a letter to a professor and, after several weeks have not received a response, it is worth trying again. However, if you fail to get a response to both messages, it is probably not worth pursuing the matter any further. If you do not get into the program that you want, it is often possible to apply again. Try to find out why your application was denied. Sometimes there just is not space in a given laboratory or program in a given year, a situation that sometimes changes from one year to the next. Alternatively, if you discover that there is a weakness in your application, you may be able to do something to correct that problem. At the same time, though, be realistic. If you have reason to think that you are not competitive enough for a given school, you possibly should stop applying to that program.

6. Hedge your bets. Even if there is one program that you have your heart set on, apply to a number of schools. Everyone is limited by space and money and thus, even with a great undergraduate record, it may not be possible to gain admission to your first choice of graduate programs. By applying to a number of schools, you increase the chances that you will get at least one offer from a good program, and there are several good schools in the country.

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