<p>How hard is it to get into graduate school? What exactly are they looking for? I want to get into the econ graduate department at UChicago, but it seems as though that would be ridiculously tough.</p>
<p>Do I really good grades throughout college, and internships and stuff, or what?</p>
<p>for any graduate school...its definitely GPA and then the resume...stacking on quality internship opportunities are key...graduate schools look for that. Then it comes down to getting the interview and falling through. But GPA is mandatory...depending on the competitiveness of the school...keep above a 3.5-3.6 GPA and you're good...basically work your ass off..don't slack.</p>
<p>However, the intense, insane competition to get into prestigious colleges that occurs when you get out of high school doesn't happen when you apply to grad school. All of the 1.2 million high school graduates each year have all heard of the same 12 name colleges at the top of the heap. For grad school, you tend to try for the best school in your field and so there isn't the funnel effect into a small number of colleges. </p>
<p>They will look at your record in college especially in your field of study. The recs from professors will count alot. Any internships or research you can help a professor with at your college will help. As said by parikhs, a good gpa is 3.5 or 3.6 since nobody gets a 4.0 in college.</p>
<p>Of course, Vet/Med/Law/Pharmacy schools and certain MBA programs are harder to get into than straight grad school.</p>
<p>I don't agree with that last statement, dufus. Many grad programs have <10% acceptance rates, and the departments can be picky. Med/law/vet schools are a bit easier, IMHO, because you know exactly what they're looking for. Grad programs take a lot of factors into account, including whether your interests line up with the interests of the faculty- if they don't, even with a good record, you probably won't be admitted. </p>
<p>Here's some input from a professor:
[quote]
Beyond the courseload, I can tell you that what most graduate admissions committees look for are:</p>
<ul>
<li> high GPAs, high GRE scores (the best grad f'ships rely
heavily on these numbers)</li>
<li> strong letters of recommendation from professors in fields related to
your desired course of study</li>
<li> a clear statement of purpose - what within the program do you wish
to focus on theoretically, geographically, and chronologically,
and why is Michigan/Penn/Berkeley etc. the place you feel
best fits your needs?</li>
</ul>
<p>This last has become increasingly important - for instance, my colleagues and I would want to see that you know what our research foci are, and have a real reason to want to work with one or more of us and/or a desire to combine working with us with tapping other strengths in the department.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>When I hear grad school, I personally think in terms of the sciences. I think someone applying to grad school does know much more about what colleges they want to attend since they have a narrow interest. An undergraduate applicant has probably vaguely heard of HYPSM, but a grad school applicant knows that the U of Wash has the absolutely best program in their specialized field. </p>
<p>Certainly less people go to grad school and there is much, much less focus on just a few brand-name schools. As a general comment, I think this makes entry into grad school a much less neurotic experience for people; but of course, there may be a few super competitive programs. Certainly trying to study under a professor in your selected field that just won the Nobel prize in that field can be competitive. On the other hand, the top two graduate engineering depts (according to USNWR) are MIT and Stanford and they have acceptance rates of 25.3% and 35.5%.</p>
<p>The thing that I find depressing about vet/med/law/pharmacy schools is that it may be impossible to get in anywhere. If a person wants to be a PhD in chemistry, they can definitely do it. If a person has wanted to be a vet since they were 4 years old, they may be locked out.</p>