So, this is Part 2 of this entry. Part 1 is here.
At this point, you have figured out what kind of graduate degree to apply to. If you have read Part 1 (link above), you might have also figured out a little more about where you are going to apply.
Now comes how to apply. What do you need to do next.
This entry is just going to be about organizing yourself.
Here is what you need.
1) A CV. I wrote an entry about what not to put on your CV, but that entry also has lots of links for writing one, and the difference between a CV and a resume. Critically, for applications to graduate school, you need a CV. Also, you need a CV for some of the other things that you will need for applying to graduate school (that are further down on this list).
2) An understanding of who will be your mentor(s) at each program you are applying to. That is, you should be able to identify 1-2 people under whose supervision you want to work at each program. If you can't do this, go back to Part 1 and do the work there. Of importance is that you want to decide something, which is whether to contact these people before you apply. This is a separate entry.
3) To possibly take the GREs. Most schools still require them. I wrote about this here (Part 1 and Part 2)
4) A sample of your writing. This is possibly the least important thing, but if you have a paper (even if it is not in your field of study) that you are especially proud of, then it's a good first step. I'd an entry about this here.
5) A personal statement. Much like applying to college, you have to write one of these. But the personal statement that you write for graduate school bears no resemblance to the statement that you wrote for college. Here is a separate entry about how to write this, and the elusive concept of "match."
6) Letter of recommendation. Typically, you will need three letter writers, who will write letters for the programs. This is also another entry
.
OK. So, this entry was a little bit of a promissory note. But my hope is that this will eventually be useful in guiding the process.