You've decided graduate school is for you. Where to go? The decision-making process you just went through in evaluating whether grad school is for you provides much of the information you'll need to evaluate which programs to apply to.

Your career - particularly the early part - will be defined by your choice of graduate schools. The first step is to determine your career objective. Then, think about the area you want to study, and narrow down the possibilities. For example, if you are interested in heat transfer, narrow it down to heat transfer in the combustion process of rocket motors or diesel engines. Most schools do not excel in all areas, so the more knowledgeable you are about what you want to study, the more satisfied you will be with a particular graduate department and degree program. The process of applying to a graduate program can take a year to complete, so you should start early.

Here are the steps involved in preparing for, evaluating, and applying to graduate schools.

	Establish a strong undergraduate "dossier"
	Conduct a self assessment to determine your career objectives
	Conduct research to identify graduate programs that match your needs and objectives
	Narrow your list of schools and select those to which you will apply
	Prepare for and take any standardized entrance exams required
	Complete applications
	Visit the schools you would most like to attend

Your Undergraduate "Dossier"

Your undergraduate portfolio affects your graduate school options. Although you probably won't apply for graduate school before your senior year of college, the steps you take long before you apply will have a big impact on whether and where you are accepted. Most institutions consider the following when looking at graduate school applicants:

	Undergraduate GPA (major and cumulative)
	Academic achievements and experiences
	GRE scores
	Recommendations

The most obvious way to increase your chances of getting into the school of your choice, of course, is to maintain a good grade point average, but undergraduate research and other extracurricular activities that demonstrate your leadership ability will strengthen your package.

If you have worked on these issues before your senior year, then you will be positioned to make a play for the best graduate education available. If you plan to pursue a graduate degree in an engineering field, don't take all your undergraduate electives in liberal arts or management, ignoring advanced mathematics, science and engineering. To the admissions committee, academic achievement is primary: you should select electives that will be useful to you in graduate school. While taking good liberal arts and management courses can be a plus, mathematics beyond the minimum requirement is seen as a positive preparation for graduate study. If you are going to apply your engineering knowledge in another field and entering a graduate program in another area, such as law or management, then taking electives in those areas will strengthen your academic transcript.

A "B" average will get you into graduate school but probably not in the first tier and probably not with financial aid. An "A/B" average from a reputable undergraduate institution will leave you with many choices. If, in addition to good grades, you have excellent GRE scores (say, above a 2000 composite), then you will be in the running for financial aid (e.g., research assistantships, teaching assistantships or local fellowships) at some of the best institutions in the country. You'll also be a candidate for highly competitive national fellowships.