<p>I know that it is too early to think grad school right now (high school senior), but I think it is never too early to prepare myself for it.</p>
<p>My question is GPA the most important element of the admission process? Will the admission committee look closely at the courses taken? The reason because I have accumulated one years of college credit while in high school, and I only have a 3.4. I am not sure whether this will be a set back for me.</p>
<p>Also, will make my age make any difference? BY the time, I get my B.A., I will be only 20. Thanks.</p>
<p>Nah. By far the most important aspect will be your professor rec’s. If you can get a bunch of very strong rec’s from highly regarded prof’s, then you are basically a shoo-in as long as your GPA is at least half-decent. By the same token, there are plenty of other students who get stellar grades who nevertheless have great difficulty in getting admitted to good PhD programs because their rec’s are lukewarm. </p>
<p>The 2nd-most important attribute would be your research experience, especially your publication history. Authorship of a strong paper in a respected journal will help your cause immensely. </p>
<p>A distant 3rd would be things like GPA, course selection, and GRE.</p>