Similar to undergraduate admission, graduate admissions committees don't just look at grades. They look at everything in your application including letters of recommendation, essays, the courses you took, internships, and work and life experience. Admission directors are looking for reasons to get you in, not reasons to keep you out. In fact, the older and further away you are from your undergraduate degree, the less important your previous grades will be.

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Research suggests that the decision you made as a stressed 18-year-old doesn’t have significant...

Graduate school is more multifaceted than the predominantly lecture-module at undergraduate level. In addition to taking advanced classes, you also have added responsibility that requires more than note-taking and exam-cramming skills. Throughout your years in the program, you will find yourself working as a research aide under an advisor, teaching an undergraduate class or lab, conducting your own research, attending and presenting at conferences, and eventually writing a Masters’ and/or a PhD thesis....

While only a supplementary document in undergraduate admission, recommendations letters become one of the required documents in graduate school admission.  You’ll need to submit anywhere from two to four letters of recommendation depending on different program requirement.

The best letters you can secure are not the from the classes with As, even less relevant if they are from first year general classes when getting As are...

Research experience is not listed as a requirement on the admission page to most graduate schools. However, a strong and unique research project could improve your chances of admission by:

• Showcasing your research and academic writing skills.
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