Beyond grades Understand that only having a high grade-point average may not be enough. Given grade inflation at every college and university, a 3.5 or 3.8 does not assure a person of admission to graduate or professional programs, especially highly desirable programs at nationally-known universities. If your GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, or GRE score is inadequate, your chances are seriously diminished. It would help to determine the minimum scores, the average scores and the range of scores of people who are admitted by the programs. Contact the graduate admissions personnel at the universities for specifics.
Some extracurricular activities count more than others.
Appreciate that networking, relevant extracurricular activities, well-chosen recommendations, and high standardized test scores may also be decisive. Planning and preparation Faculty advisors and students need to work together actively in planning for students' graduate careers, whenever possible. Plan strategically for graduate school and be determined and focused on that goal. Identify people and institutions in the vicinity that can be useful for your goals. This does not mean using people, but it does mean reaching out to community resources that could enable you to grow and that are expressions of your level of seriousness about that discipline.