Find out whether your university offers campus panel discussions or brown bag lunches about choosing an advisor. If yes, participate in them. Talk with faculty about their research, and assess whether or not they seem to have time to talk with you. Find out if they are eager to get to know you as it’s a good determine of how quantifiable they would be as an advisor.
 The faculty member that seems to have similar goals and interests as you possibly has a reputation for being hard to get along with-should you cross them off your list? It is not necessarily. In some cases advisors who are extremely well organized or demanding get a bad rap, however, if you are someone who needs a lot of outside structure and motivation this could actually be a good fit for you.
Also not a bad idea is to choose a faculty member who already has a lot of graduate students. Some advisors take time for their students no matter how many they are advising. But it’s a mistake to choose an advisor simply because he or she is well known. In the same way, choosing an advisor and a research topic simply because they come with funding should be avoided.
• When the Advisor Chooses You
Many students get to campus already "chosen" by an advisor because they've offered to support you with an assistantship. For that reason, it's important to be a proactive applicant, and there are certain things you should do before you accept an offer.
It is helpful to use the Internet to do some research before you apply to graduate schools. Surf the web sites of departments, programs and faculty members. Find out if they are working on topics that interest you, and if there are several faculty members' projects that you'd like to be a part of.
Carefully arrange your applications and thoroughly. Many schools may demand an essay of some sort-it may be about research interests, career plans or educational goals. Your essay must demonstrate who you are and what you find exciting about your area of study. Make available examples and be detailed. Point out specific projects you've found on their web sites that interest you, and remember to give yourself some choices by applying to several universities.
After a school has your application available, your work is not over. Continue with a phone call: contact a particular faculty member you'd like to work with or the director of graduate studies. Schools are usually enthusiastic to encourage serious graduate students. Let them know who you are and what areas you're interested in working, and ask if it's possible to visit the campus to meet faculty and students and to tour the facilities. Some schools can even have funds to help pay for visit expenses. Visiting the campus, you have to be prepared to talk about the work you've done as an undergraduate - research experiences, papers and projects.
Present yourself as an organized, competed student. It will certainly attract likeminded advisors. Students very often leave graduate programs without completing their degree because of bad relationships with their advisors. On the other hand, students who have advisors that ask good questions, provide useful feedback and understand the kind of support their students need are priceless.
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