cwasson

Hi Everyone, So I'm currently finishing up my masters degree in neuroscience at a small to medium sized institution in Ontario. I will be applying to my PhD in pharmacy at Waterloo and neuroscience as well as pharmacology McGill in October for January admission. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on some questions I have. Do you think it's better to do a PhD at Waterloo (which has a generally new program (2013) with a PI who is still somewhat new and seems pretty lax) or McGill (which is arguably the best university in Canada with a PI who is well established, with a huge lab - I'm just afraid I will fuck something up/I feel like i'd be the dumbest one in that environment; especially considering the grad program I am in now is not the highest ranked) Based on the fact I have my MSc and have talked to these PIs do you think I can get into both schools? Both PIs said they would take me on, but I'm nervous my applications wont even get past the admission committees at McGill (sorry, this is such an annoying question, but I genuinely don't know) Is anyone currently at McGill or Waterloo? If so, could you give me your take on what it's like as a grad student? And maybe if you know someone in grad school, share their perspectives from what they've heard? Has anyone ever switched from behavioural research to molecular research. This is actually my biggest concern. My masters is in behavioural neuroscience but my PhD would be mostly molecular stuff. I have done things like PCR, Western Blots, cell culture on the side but nowhere near full time stuff. Is there a big learning curve? Thanks for your help guys

Hey Juillet! Thanks so much! I can't believe what great advice I'm getting from everyone . I am making a list of things i need to fix based on your recommendations! Also Juillet, my paper's unpublished and the research hasn't been conducted. Let's collab ;D

Hi TakeruK! I want to thank you so much for taking the time to do what you did, I really appreciate it! Not many people would take the time to go through each segment bit by bit. I will take all your advice to heart and definitely agree with everything you said. I will make the changes shortly. Thanks so much

Hey guys, I have been reading tons of blog posts on how important it is to have a personal website now-a-days when it comes to getting jobs or promoting your research. Do any of you guys have your own personal websites? If so, I'd love to see them. I just made one today so maybe some of you could critique it on what I can add to make it better? Thanks! here's the link: http://cameronwasson.weebly.com (for some reason you have to paste it in your URL bar to make the site load otherwise it loops back to this post, weird :/)

I'd like to give an update. So I messaged the graduate office and they said everything is fine! So I worried for nothing basically. Thanks for all of your advice.

Gnome, I am openly gay at my institution, just was not to my rents' that is what caused the controversy. So to answer your question--yes. Actuallyatree, I think my circumstances are unusual. They are circumstances not experienced but those who are not apart of a minority. But I agree, I was being a bit selfish in what I said. Jenste, yeah i'm very lucky! because my marks are super high the course doesn't have much effect on my GPA, so it's not really hurting my average that bad, it's just in relation to my degree , blahh.

Hey guys thanks for your comments! As for asking the prof about extra assignments, the entire course is test based. I also asked prof for an extra credit assignment and he told me no, which is stupid.

jenste, The only condition is that I have a degree pretty much; my marks don't matter- well except in the fact that they have downgraded my degree. The good news is that the deadline for my final transcripts to be submitted are after I've already finished my first semester of grad school, so I could do summer school and up my grade. It would just be easier and finically more viable if I didn't have to. As well, do you think that if I had already finished an entire semester of grad school they would kick me out because I didn't have the honours designation?

smpalesh, I don't know if you quite understand what i'm doing, but I am not asking them to raise my mark from a D to a B. I received a 54% in the course and I need a 60% in the course for it to qualify for the overall degree designation. Furthermore, people deal with stress differently and evidently it has affected me in a very different way than you. Congratulations on getting an 87% thats great, though if the same circumstances had befallen you-you receiving a less than optimal grade- I guarantee you would be doing the same thing as me and you could use your 'circumstances' to appeal, so stop being so antagonistic.

This is what I wrote for my appeal: I am writing to appeal my degree (Honours Bachelor of Arts-Honours Double Major- Major Psychology, Major Kinesiology), as I have fallen short of meeting the requirements in my final semester of undergraduate study. I have received lower than a 60% in a kinesiology course (KIN 2236B), which will not allow me to receive my desired degree module. I am appealing this as I have been accepted with a conditional offer to attend Guelph University for their MSc in Neuroscience, a program that is contingent on receiving an Honours Degree. I believe that I have worked very efficiently and proactively throughout my undergraduate education and believe that I deserve my Honours designation. Furthermore, I have completed two independent study courses (PSYCH 3998F, 3999G) for which the workload is equivalent to that of an undergraduate thesis. Moreover, I believe that my inability to meet my desired degree module is a result of certain personal circumstances, which afflicted me this final semester of study: 1. Applying to graduate school is a known stressor and to this I concur. Over this past year I have been gathering reference letters, making academic connections, as well as making moving plans. In addition to this, it has been of great financial strain for me to submit these applications. All the stress of applying, of waiting, and of rejection have accumulated and taken a toll on my degree progress. 2. As a self identified member of the LGBT community I have faced obstacles that may not be faced by members outside of this minority group. After going through a tiresome breakup with my significant other I fell into a depressive state. I briefly turned to a therapist to talk about my problems; further, I turned to my family for support. However, this required me to “come out” or “self identify” to my family for which they did not already know; they were not fully accepting of my lifestyle, which put more stress on me. This depressive phase of my life I feel caused me to lose some motivation and preform less than optimal. This is potentially the key factor that caused me not to perform at my best. I am in full understanding that all students are put under an immense amount of stress and pressure; however, I feel that I have been put under more stress in one semester than many do face. Therefore, I feel on the terms of compassion I should be granted my degree module. I have worked hard to be accepted to my graduate program and have a passion for research in the realm of the neurosciences. I wish to make discoveries and add content to the scientific community, which starts with me being able to attend my program in the Fall. Because I have one mark that does not meet criteria for my module due to the apparent stressors in my life that have befallen me in the past few months, I fear I will not be able to secure a fulfilling future. I implore you to consider my appeal and hope that you are able to see that certain circumstances lead to my poor performance in my final semester of study. The “silver-lining” in the situation is that my hard work has qualified me to attend a graduate program, and I ask you to allow me to do this by conferring me an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree. do you guys think it has a shot?

Thanks jenste! Yeah I think my less than stellar mark was due to some personal factors. Everyone on here is making me nervous so I submitted an appeal to my faculty office to give me my honours degree despite having a shitty mark. I have back-up options, such as summer school, but those involve spending more money for course work so hopefully everything will work out for the best. What a time to get a bad mark, go figure.

Hi iphi, Yes it's Canadian, however, the only reason I ask because generally in Canadian universes especially in neuroscience programs you can apply without an honours degree and will treat it equivalent if you have lab experience.

Hey everyone I need some opinions on my situation. So I just got accepted to my program but my offer is conditional, stating that I need to receive a honours bachelor of arts (that is what I said I would have when I graduated). This semester has not been going well and I may not meet the criteria for the honours designation. In my program the honours has no meaning as it does not indicate that we wrote a thesis; rather, it shows that our average was at a certain % and we received no grade lower than 60%. Therefore, because of my less than stellar grade in one course, my degree will be downgraded to a regular BA. Do you think I will not get accepted on this account? While applying to the masters program it did not specify if you needed an honours degree. Additionally, my average still meets the criteria for admission. The only difference is that my degree will not have a certain designation that really means nothing. I have worked hard for admission and the course just sucks. Furthermore, do you guys think that I should send an email asking this, or do you think this will put me on their radar? Let me know what you guys think!

Accepted to the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience program at Guelph on Friday. With $16000 in funding, plus an additional $6000 from a research grant!

Did anyone apply to the Mcmaster Neuro Program? They started reviewing applications, has anyone been given an offer of admission?

Just got an offer from Western for the Msc Neuroscience program...to bad it's my last choice, I can't stay here for another 2 years aha

Queens, Western, Guelph, and McMaster for MSc in Neuroscience. Having some serious impostors syndrome :/

Hi guys, I'm not sure if there is a thread for this yet, if so, let me know and I will remove this one. In the mean time, post what schools/programs you guys applied for. Also, if anyone knows any dates when people should hear feedback post those too!

Well I mean, I am the "Sheldon Cooper" of my friends

Okay, So, I'm applying for a neuroscience grad programs and In my SOP i talk about how I became addicted to the subject. I want to write: "I would later learn this addiction behaviour to be associated with my Mesolimbic reward pathway" Because like, it's an addiction pathway, haha;). Is this in poor taste or too cheesy? or do you think it makes me stand out by showing that I actually have knowledge of neuro concepts?

thanks guys! good advice. Do you think that it's too generic?

I dont understand how this contributes to your grad program, you should make that more clear

With the myriad of growth in the popularity in the study of the human brain, with research ventures such as The Human Brain Project in Europe and The BRAIN Initiative in the USA, there has never been a more an exciting time to be a neuroscientist. Even more, with breakthrough discoveries being made in Canada on a daily basis, there has never been a better time to pursue neurobiological research at a Canadian university. All being said, the choice to pursue a career in neuroscience research, at this climate of exciting discovery, was perhaps the easiest decision I have ever made. I vividly remember becoming fascinated with the subject in my second year of undergrad in my introduction to cognitive and behavioural neuroscience course. There I learned the fundamentals in the study of the human brain and found that I was beyond fascinated with the subject matter— I was hooked. From then on, I sought out opportunities to further grow my understanding of neuroscientific concepts and research skills. For my independent study project under Dr. X, I studied the effects of exogenous corticosterone administration on the myelination of the avian song control system. During this experiment, I was able to see the project though from its very inception, to the write- up of the final results, and to the final submission towards the prospect of publication. By undertaking this project I was able to hone my skills as a researcher and learn a plethora of useful techniques, such as immunohistochemical staining, working with animal models, cryosectioning, slide mounting, and microscopy skills, to name a few. In addition to my independent research, I was able to take an advanced level course under the direction of Dr. Y in research techniques in behavioural neuroscience. This unique opportunity enabled me to further develop my skills as a researcher by training me on how to write advanced scientific research papers, purposefully dissect a brain into various levels of observation, and extended my ability to work with rats as an animal model. My research background as well as my academic background has helped shape my scientific interests. Broadly speaking, my true passion lies in behavioural neuroscience. While I certainly would consider doing research strictly in cellular/molecular neurobiology, I find the underlying neurobiological underpinnings and how they contribute to the behavioural outcomes ultimately more fascinating. Furthermore, I am interested in three main ideas of neuroscientific research: neuroendocrinology/sexuality, the neuroscience of addiction/reward, and the neuromodulation of pain. Indeed, my interest was captured by those themes whilst writing course-based research papers. The first paper written, a research proposal, suggests administration of exogenous oxytocin reduces homonegativity in highly homophobic individuals. This paper sparked my interest in neuroendocrinology/sexuality. Further, the second paper, a literature review entitled, ‘The Painful Truth: A Comprehensive Review of Pain and Pain Management,’ specifically described the main theories of pain, therapeutic interventions used to treat pain, as well as some of the major limitations incurred during the study of pain. These past experiences have ultimately culminated in my decision to pursue an academic career in neuroscience; however, my first step to obtain my idealized career is to find a Graduate program that will allow me to pursue my passion. I hope to attend the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Z University because of the national and international recognition of the program, the quality of education available, the high standards for scientific investigation, and the opportunity to produce highly publishable research. Furthermore, whilst performing my search for graduate programs, I looked at the quality mentorship and the opportunities to work in a collaborative and friendly setting— Z University meets this criteria. Moreover, the labs at Z University align with my research interests. I am particularly interested in working with either, Dr. M, who studies addiction and pain using rats as animal models; Dr. R, who researches reward-like mechanisms in learning; or Dr. C, who investigates the neural basis of sexual function as well as dysfunction. The opportunity to work in these labs, among others related to my interests, would further enrich my academic conquests and allow me to contribute to the field by publishing exciting and novel research, that I would be particularly proud of. All being said, the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at Z University gives students an exciting opportunity to become true innovators in the field. With an MSc from the Neuroscience Graduate Program I believe that I will gain professional skills in research that will make me competitive as a PhD applicant. In addition, I believe that this program can equipment me with the tools that will allow me to independently think, further formulate contributory novel ideas to the world, but most of all, allow me to become a modern pioneer in the field of neuroscience. I wish to make breakthroughs as a Canadian neuroscientist much like Dr. Donald Hebb— after all, he taught at Z.