really

I agree on all points raised by zabius. Well said. To stress this point, I'd say going to a different school for your PhD 1) provides a lot of growth potential in learning and new perspectives, especially in neuroscience where there are so many subfields and techniques and each school only has good representation in a handful of those, 2) vastly expands your networking capability, 3) lets you see the world a bit more and differently than you're used to by being somewhere new (personal growth - I value it, but maybe you don't as much) From the rankings of A and B (and that you're looking at Neuro programs), it sounds like you would be well funded either way, so I would go with B.

I think it's actually more normal for entering students to live in the GC, but perhaps that's just people in my program (neuro). It's definitely convenient for entering students -- you don't have to buy furniture or cookware and you can opt for a 1-br and not risk living with someone you don't get along with. Most people move out of the GC after living there for a year though because it kind of sucks to live in... especially over the summer when it is just sweltering hot (no a/c built-in or allowed). You also get screwed over by the expensive meal plan and it's annoying to cook in the two communal kitchens. If you don't want to be in dorm-style living and eating off of the meal plan for a year, I would definitely apply for an apartment.

Hi, I'm a second year phd student. Contrary to a post above, I think it is more common for first years to be in the GC (old & new), and if you don't know anyone else in Princeton, I would recommend that option. In the NGC, rooms are small and bathrooms are shared. I don't remember what the OGC was like. OGC was built a while ago and has more multi-person housing. The NGC is all single-person housing. I think most students in the GC are 1st or 2nd years. Mixed from all departments. If you live in the GC, it is required. It is indeed ridiculous and they are screwing you over. Buy the cheapest meal plan. You can also live in the Annexes which are converted houses converted to dorm-style living. You live with ~12-15 others depending on the house, and there is a communal kitchen and sometimes a common room. You actually live closer to campus than if you lived in the GC. And you're not required to buy a meal plan. So if you like to cook, I'd say this is the best option. Don't know, but I think it's hard. Agreed. Looks cool and new and shiny, but will probably be pricey. But (I think) there will be 2br, 3br, and 4br options, and the rooms should cost less as you add people. With priority (and 3 friends to room with), that would be a pretty sweet deal. Butler is like a trailer park. 2-br homes. Cozy, super cheap. Prices listed on the price sheet are for 2 bedrooms so cut it in half if you have a roommate. Far from town. Bike to campus or the town, or take the shuttle. Stanworth is nicer, but I've only been there once. Used to be faculty/postdoc housing. A bit far from campus. Can walk to town, but most probably bike there. I think everyone bikes or takes the shuttle to campus. I think Lawrence is comparable to Stanworth in quality. Big, tall apartment buildings. Feels new, lots of grad students around, nice common space and kitchen. Can walk to town, but most probably bike there. Can walk to campus but most probably bike or shuttle there.

Ditto to most of what Bison said. However, if you want to do computational neuro, depending on the type of computational neuro you want to do (neural network modeling, dynamical systems, neuronal models, programming-heavy analysis/statistics, neuroengineering, etc. - it's so vast and varied), you may want to consider taking more higher level math courses, such as linear algebra and differential equations. Upper level computer science courses aren't too useful for neuroscience research, but you should be at least comfortable with programming, ideally in matlab. I think it is pretty program-specific what kind of computational background these programs are looking for, but you may be able to get a sense of it by looking at the professors' research. When I applied last year to computational programs, I was asked a few times what my math background was (I have a strong computer science background so no need to ask about that), and I think having taken a course in differential equations in particular was a plus. Not crucial, but good to have since a decent amount of modeling involves it to some degree.

I'm a current first-year neuroscience PhD student. I don't have your exact same situation with regard to your background, but I can tell you that you will 99% not be asked specific neuroscience questions like on a test or quiz. However, for the researchers you expressed interest in working with, you will be expected to know and understand, at least at a basic level (hopefully much more), what it is they do so that you can talk about their research intelligently and ask smart questions. Read at least one paper they've published recently so you get a sense of what they do now. It's okay not to understand it all, but try to look up the basic, factual things you don't understand first and save the critical analysis questions to ask in person. You might be paired to interview with profs doing something completely different from what you want to do and what you know about. These are usually just for you to ask questions about the program or life in the area, but my old adviser said that these are also sanity checks - to make sure that you can talk science and can explain your past work intelligently, that you're a good fit for the program, and that you're not crazy and the PI who wants you is not super-biased toward you. For those cases, if they talk about their research, you probably won't be expected to say something smart because that's not the point of the interview and they know your background is less bio-heavy, but if you can follow and ask good questions, that's a plus. A lot of the neuro programs I applied to seemed to seek an academically diverse group of incoming students, and not all students they took have a neuro background. If you don't, I think you'll be expected to show (not just have) a lot of interest in neuroscience and have some basic background and probably related research that would make the transition easier. Cognitive science isn't far off, and computer science (plus math) is immensely useful, especially in a computationally oriented program, so I don't think you have too much to worry about. HTH and good luck!

I am too. It is such a relief to be done with it finally.

Are you in BCS, MoJingly?

To those who didn't hear from a school and emailed them to ask about it, who did you email? The graduate admissions office or the graduate program coordinator or both? I think emailing the graduate admissions office might not yield a helpful response, but emailing the program coordinator might annoy them. What did you all do?

They had two interview weekends - one in mid-January and one in early February.

Hi, regarding NYU CNS - I was invited to interview there, but I haven't heard any news since. I've talked to someone else who interviewed with me, and she received an acceptance a few weeks ago. Not sure what that means for you or for me though.

Is this for the BU Graduate Program in Neuroscience? If so, I'm sorry to say that they had interviews on 3/7 and 3/8 and there were around 40 prospectives there, including myself. I haven't heard back from them since.