<p>What do grad school admissions look for in an applicant? Appart from GPA and class rank, do they look into anything else such as work experience and/or any important positions you held at college? I am starting college next year so I would like to know what things are important in order to get into a good grad school.</p>
<p>Make solid grades, do well on standardized tests, get good recommendations, write an excellent personal statement....</p>
<p>Internships, research, and campus involvment can also help.</p>
<p>"Grad school" is very broad. For law school GPA and the LSAT are mostly all that matters. For business school, you need strong work experience, and leadership/ECs help. For a science PH.D, some kind of research and/or strong recommendations will be crucial.</p>
<p>I was referring to business, sorry for not mentioning it. What kind of EC's can you take in university? Any particular examples that would make your application look good?</p>
<p>CC has a grad applications forum for this.</p>
<p>Grad schools in most fields don't care about your ECs unless they are related to the subject you want to study. Business school probably cares some about leadership experience.</p>
<p>For a business school you will need the GMAT, I believe. Possibly the GRE as well.</p>
<p>Things that will look good to grad schools:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Research experience!!! (at least in a research-based program - for an all-coursework, non-thesis program they might not care as much)</p></li>
<li><p>Work experience (less important for some fields, but probably very important for business)</p></li>
<li><p>Undergraduate curriculum that will have prepared you well</p></li>
<li><p>Strong statement of purpose and letters of recommendation</p></li>
</ul>
<p>
[quote]
What kind of EC's can you take in university?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Many universities have hundreds of clubs available, in all sorts of areas, and pretty much all of them will have officers, which is a form of leadership experience. There are also sports - intramural or club if you can't make varsity at your school - and sports teams/clubs normally have a captain or president, which is also leadership experience. For a business school, student government/advocacy or business/econ/finance-related clubs probably look especially good.</p>
<p>Oh, and I forgot one thing that grad schools like...teaching experience.</p>
<p>A lot of Business schools will want you to be out of undergrad for a few years and working before you apply. That isn't to say there aren't students who go directly from undergrad to grad for business, just that I think your chances are better if you have some work experience under your belt.</p>