<p>Like Harvard, Stanford, Yale and so on. What should I do over my first 4 years in UC Davis so I can have good chances of getting into top grad. schools?</p>
<p>Honestly, it will be difficult for you to be accepted into the "Ivy" grad schools because you are going to, what they consider, a below par school. Your only hope is to get "through the roof grades." On the other hand, Stanford has been known to be a bit lenient toward "u of c" applicants so that might be your lucky break.</p>
<p>fantastic grades are a must. but thats true regardless of where you attend for undergrad. beyond that, make sure you establish some very strong faculty connections in your area of study. (imagine if the admissions officers at colleges KNEW and TRUSTED the high school teachers who wrote your recs.) also try to get involved in some serious research. to top things off, do well on your gres, though they are much less important than the sats are in undergradute admissions.</p>
<p>but just know that it is not at all true that you cannot get into a top graduate program without attending a top undergraduate university. and just so you know, there are a LOT of fantastic graduate programs out there and many of them are at universities most people on this board would never consider attending as undergraduates.</p>
<p>What about ECs? Is there special clubs which are strongly recommended to join?</p>
<p>ECs have verrrrrrrry little impact on your application. (and for the person who said Davis wasnt good enough for top grad schools, I know a Davis grad who is now at a top 5 med school).
Just do well in your classes and rock the GRE/LSAT/MCAT/whatever! Also helps to get some research experience in your field- ask a professor about this.</p>
<p>So basically if one gets a good gpa (3.7ish+), good GRE score, maybe some nice undergrad research, and a good recs and statement of intent, they could get into a good grad program without ECs?</p>
<p>I'm still unclear about this whole grad school app thing but ECs (other than interning, etc.) not mattering much would be a nice thing to know.</p>
<p>Top grad schools do not require you to go to a top undergraduate school. That is a flat out lie.</p>
<p>So what do they weight the most? GPA and test score?</p>
<p>I know somebody who went to University of Oklahoma and got into both Stanford and Yale (full ride)Top grad school doesnt neccesarily mean you have to goto a really good undergrad school.</p>
<p>But someone from HYPSM with a 3.7 will have a better chance than someone from an average school with the same gpa and probably even higher.</p>
<p>What matters for getting into graduate school varies quite a bit by field. In the sciences, for example, lots of research experience is pretty much required.</p>
<p>For the sciences (particularly biology), factors are weighted as such--
Very Important. Research experience, faculty recommendations, GPA (if from not-good undergrad school)
Important. GRE score, GPA (if from good undergrad school), statement of purpose, research interests.
Not important. Extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot people. So good GPA and good test scores at the end of undergrad.</p>
<p>what is your definition of "good undergrad school" ? Those that are ranked in Top 10 US news?</p>
<p>if EC's are at the bottom of the important to not important spectrum, is it still detrimental to not have ANY EC'S?
i personally hope to be involved in a lot of different things in college, but it would be nice to know what a nice "minimum" would be for EC's</p>
<p>You don't need any EC's, graduate schools are looking for future scholars in their field, so the only factors they look at are ones that correlate with scholarship. I'll give some examples of EC's that help and ones that don't help. If you're applying to grad school in applied math it's probably a plus on your application if you have a good score on the Putnam, it's also probably a plus if you did well in an international mathematical modeling contest like <a href="http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/%5B/url%5D">http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/</a>. Both of those are EC's that I think would help an application for graduate school in math. Something that wouldn't help is being on the crew team for your college.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Thanks a lot people. So good GPA and good test scores at the end of undergrad.
[/quote]
No, what molliebatmit says. </p>
<p>She is a graduating senior at MIT and has a blog on their admission web site that's worth visiting since it has lots of good advice. <a href="http://mollie.mitblogs.com/%5B/url%5D">http://mollie.mitblogs.com/</a></p>
<p>US News rankings mean next to squat for grad school admissions. Grad schools know the criteria that goes into these rankings is a bit of a joke. They know what the good schools are based on the performance of other grads from these schools at their grad schools. UC Davis should have data on where their grads have gone to grad school. </p>
<p>I belive the Carnegie Foundation has research available on the undergraduate origins of docotoral degrees in the US, which should give you an idea of which colleges send the most students to which grad schools.</p>
<p>Elsewhere on CC, there's a link to some data on top feeder schoools for law, medicine and business schools. This may also be helpful.</p>
<p>As for what to do during school, the previous advice is sound. Get good grades, do well on the GRE, GMAT, MCAT, whatever. Align yourself with faculty so you can do extra research if possible. Take advantage of summer internships. If you have to work in the summer, find a job in your field. Take advantage of every honors opportunity you can.</p>
<p>ECs don't really matter unless they are in your field. For example, if you are going to grad school in social work, volunteering as a crisis worker helps, but characterize it as an internship, not as a volunteer activity. The type of things that make you appear well-rounded to a college admissions counselor will make you appear scattered and too concerned with social activities to a grad admissions committee.</p>