Best way to boost application

[Kalmar]

I'm in the precarious situation that before my final year, my GPA is set and not possible to improve/worsen (I'm at a UK university where we use discrete degree classifications). This essentially means that while I'm hoping to get strong predictions/final grades in my final year exams, these will take place after applications and decisions, and in either case I won't be able to bump up my GPA at all.

I'm currently wondering how to best improve my application. I'm applying for an MA in Islamic/Middle Eastern Studies. I already have 1 year of very good professional experience, albeit not related to the field (except a few projects I've done which are).

I recently won a research scholarship to go to the Middle East this coming summer to conduct research and write up a project. This will hopefully form a significant part of my SOP, but I'm looking at ways to improve my position further. I'm taking up Arabic in my final year as well as picking the most relevant courses. In addition, my final year dissertation is going to be on a highly relevant topic. I've been active in activist groups on ME issues. I've got a good media contact who would let me publish relevant articles on a decently visited website.

Some ideas I currently have which I hope to achieve in the coming year:

Attend major relevant conferences

Become research assistant for a relevant academic at my institution

Write relevant articles

What else could I do to boost my application? Any ideas?

[Ameonna]

It sounds like you have some really good ideas already! Here are a couple of things to consider:

If you need to take the GRE or any other standardized test, get some good study materials and get going on that ASAP. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to pace yourself when studying and you won't need to cram at the last second!

Do you know who you're getting your LORs from? Do you have (at least) three strong relationships with faculty members and/or supervisors that you can guarantee good letters from? Consider those questions now before you're in the middle of the process and realizing your letters aren't as strong as they could be. If you do have some people in mind, be sure to maintain your relationships with these individuals, and give them plenty to write about.

You may already know this, but don't just attend conferences; talk with people and really mingle. See what kind of contacts you can make. You may find professors there with similar interests who can direct you to programs you may not have necessarily thought of or found in your research.

Hope that helps!

[Kalmar]

It sounds like you have some really good ideas already! Here are a couple of things to consider:

If you need to take the GRE or any other standardized test, get some good study materials and get going on that ASAP. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to pace yourself when studying and you won't need to cram at the last second!

Do you know who you're getting your LORs from? Do you have (at least) three strong relationships with faculty members and/or supervisors that you can guarantee good letters from? Consider those questions now before you're in the middle of the process and realizing your letters aren't as strong as they could be. If you do have some people in mind, be sure to maintain your relationships with these individuals, and give them plenty to write about.

You may already know this, but don't just attend conferences; talk with people and really mingle. See what kind of contacts you can make. You may find professors there with similar interests who can direct you to programs you may not have necessarily thought of or found in your research.

Hope that helps!

Firstly thanks for a helpful response. LORs are my main concern. I have one professor who will be able to write a very good LOR, and the person I hope will supervise my undergraduate dissertation is quite famous in the field and has contacts at several of the universities I'm applying to. For the third referee I'm not sure at all - I know someone who was a visiting professor at my uni who has now left. He didn't teach so we only knew each other personally, and I don't know if that's useful. He's very relevant to the field, though. Other than that I'm quite unsure...

Any tips/advice how I can improve this section?

Re: GRE, I'm not sure whether I'll apply to the US (primarily looking at UK and Canada at the moment).