<p>I am an incoming grad student in the sciences - so I don’t know too much about politics related grad school - but I do know more than I would like on grad school apps in general:</p>
<p>Is there a website or book out there that can help me? This website (CC) is helpful to find answers to questions (use the search features! often questions gets answered many times on the site so look to see if your question has already been answered earlier - look at the stickies like poster said earlier). Websites for the programs you may be interested in will have program specific info (what’s required in an application (usually transcripts, letters of rec (LORs), GRE scores, application which includes a statement of purpose (SOP), time line for applying - it’s usually roughly like applying to college - get apps ready in the fall, submit in the winter, hear back in the spring, and start grad school the next school year. This means that if you want to go directly from college to grad school, you need to think about the GRE during the summer between junior and senior year to take in the fall/late summer. You can also take some time between college and grad school to get experience, apply to schools -which is a ton of work- and take a break from school - don’t be afraid to do this) To find what programs you maybe interested in, check out this site, perhaps USNWR rankings (take with a grain of salt), read papers and see where the author is from (eg. if everyone you like publishes from school X, check that school out), ask your profs what schools are good for your area. Remember, ivies and the like are often not the best for grad school - universities not distinguished for super selective undergrad may have the best/top programs for grad in a specific field. Get the notions of undergrad rankings/prestige out of your head for grad school.</p>
<p>What is the most important factor in admissions? Do extracurriculars (like clubs, volunteering etc.) matter at all? Or is it all about GPA/GRE and research? Any tips for a sophomore on what I should do while still in undergrad?
For most grad programs ECs don’t really matter (not in the same sense that they mattered for college. Unless it’s highly pertinent to your career/grad school interests, usually it’s not going to factor in. That said, you do want a personality/interests during interviews -so having some not strictly grad school-academic related interests can be a good thing). Big thing that matters besides GPA (v. important. Shot for as high as possible. Below a 3.0 might bar admission - so try not to be one of those people with a 2.9 GPA and want to go to grad school) and GRE scores (important, but varies in importance from field to field and school to school a lot) is research (with faculty who can write you a good LOR). Summers should be spent doing this if possible (see if your school has research grants for students for the summer - you can get a stipend for you and your research). Doing research doing the school year is great too, but can be trickier with classes - try for it. Getting a LOR from a faculty member you did research with is important. Get to know your profs NOW (research, office hours, ask questions, etc etc) - cultivate relationships with them for years is much better than senior year comes around and you want a LOR but don’t have any profs that know you. LOR development is something you should do throughout college. Also, if grad school has any required classes (see program websites), plan this out now too so that you can get in all the required classes (I studied abroad, so this required very careful planning to get the classes I needed for my major, grad school, my school requirements, etc).</p>
<p>Do most people already know the area they want to research before applying? Do they seek out professors in their field? And do most people go straight from college to a PhD program, or do they take a year off to work or relax?
People do have a good idea of what they want to research - doesn’t have to be extremely specific (I only know science examples, but knowing you want to do “molecular biology” is not specific enough. Saying you want to research how a specific gene effects the development of a specific disease using a specific research technique - probably too narrow. Something in between is better.) Most grad schools ask you to write about your research interests in the app (SOP), so you need something to say that is convincing (often this means you have experience/research in that field and/or taken the classes to support this interest. But, often people have research isn’t related too much to what they want to do in grad school, but they have done research in a field that has allowed them to develop the skills that could be transferred to a new topic). Your interests may change over time in grad school from your original idea. You do want to apply to schools where people are doing work that fits/jives with your interests (having at least 4-ish profs at a school that are doing research you find interesting is important). If you have no clue what you want to do in grad school - don’t apply, get a job/real world experience, and think about it. You want to have a well-developed enough idea of what you want to do in grad school before applying. Some people go straight into grad school and some take time off - very field dependent (some programs strongly encourage or require real world experience and some are geared more toward college->grad school direct route)</p>
<p>I am a perfectionist that works best alone.
While I don’t know too much about polt. sci. or what area you are interested in - working with people is part of good research. I don’t think saying you like to work alone is something you want to advertise. I like to work alone (studying, writing, reading etc -not a group study person…) but I like to collaborate on ideas/discuss projects/work with others to do good science. </p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>