NsciApp

$140 GRE $050 change GRE date $160 additional score reports $012 scores by phone (this makes me seem crazy since it's just the writing score, really) $090 transcripts $075 one application (others free due to McNair) $527 total for 12 schools, only 9 of which I ended up applying to

hey iggy, I got an invite to Michigan neuroscience today too! yippeee!!! I also have an interview at Iowa, and I am expecting to hear from Wisconsin any day now....

update: I had a very good informal phone interview, and I've thought a little more about this... so almost a sure thing: 2 have connections, good fit, good chance: 3 I will call my mother with tears of joy in my eyes: 4

which 4? How did you pick? I was looking at Harvard, UCSF, Berkley, and Davis, too.

I'm trying to channel that anxiety into writing 2 manuscripts, reading articles by profs I'm interested in working with, reading about cost of living at schools I applied to, figuring out whether I should buy a house, and doing anything else that offers the illusion of control while *other things* are completely out of my hands.

UPDATE: based on my research on this website and others I've decided to stop checking my apps (neuroscience/biosciences) until after Christmas. Even then...I've heard that a lot of people get invited for interviews via phone.

haha, you would think I would be competent at simple things like SEEING LINKS by now... oh well

sorry to be a moron...which aspect of this site would have the "results" info ppl are talking about? Do I need to just search by school/department? I know it can be really different depending on department.

Does anybody know how soon I can expect to hear back from bioscience/neuroscience programs? The deadlines for those schools are Dec 1 & 15. Some schools explicitly state that they offer interviews on a rolling basis. thanks

Applications: 9 neuroscience/biosciences programs Competitive at: 4?? not really sure.... Responses so far: 0 (applications submitted; due dates Dec 1-15)

I am going to mention all of the faculty whose interests match mine. I think it shows you are a good fit if you could potentially be happy working in several labs. If you just go on and on about one person/technique/article you may sound inflexible. In my thinking it's better to make yourself marketable to several faculty. Then again, I'm no expert since I'm going through this process for the first time, too!

Hi Everyone--I need your SoP writing help! I have a decent draft of my SoP (is it safe to post here to have others read--risk of plagiarism?) What I need to do now is customize it for each school to which I'm applying (biosciences umbrella programs, always neuroscience). WHAT should go into that final paragraph with the school-specific info? I've contacted faculty at each school, so I can "name drop," but to what degree should I do that? After all, the adcomms already know that they're a good school and know that professor X does Y research. How in the heck do people say specific things about umbrella programs they want to be part of? My reasons for picking schools or thinking they were good "fits": 1) highly rated programs 2) lots of faculty (some neuroscience programs are so small it seems difficult to find someone you want to work with) 3) faculty in the neuroscience subfield I'm interested in responded to my emails positively 4) location, cost of living, word of mouth "coolness" of program I'm having a hard time modifying this last paragraph in a way that sounds individualized but not sickeningly flattering or redundant of what's on the website.

I got fee waivers for being a McNair scholar, and I also saw that schools offer income-based waivers. If you did your taxes in 2008 and are under their cutoffs you may be eligible... not sure about just asking for a waiver...

A faculty member I am interested in working with actually ENCOURAGED me to indicate that this particular school was my top choice on my application. This goes against what most of you have said, but it's straight from a faculty member! Not sure whether or not he is on the admissions committee...

Can you explain what you mean by "major bad luck?" It's hard to believe that a 2.2 GPA would be due only to luck. If you really can explain it (and you did well in your final year) then maybe you could explain it on an application? If not, you might need extra research experience or classes to make up for the poor GPA.

Hey there, neuroscience PhD applicant... Have you had a tough time sorting out the good, the bad, and the ugly programs? With so few rankings and explicit information about the caliber of neuroscience PhD programs, I'm finding it difficult to decide which ones to apply for, especially outside of the US News top 10. It's also a challenge for me to weigh my chances at any given school, since I don't know what the "average" neuroscience PhD applicant looks like. I thought this would be a good place for us to compare credentials & potential schools. Any information you want to share would be appreciated by all! Here are mine specs: Psychology & neuroscience (high honors) major from select liberal arts college, GPA 3.76, GRE 1300 (630V, 670Q, ?Writing), been doing psych/neuro research since my freshman year, and I've been working full time in a neurobiology lab for the last 9 months since graduation. 1 second-author journal article, 2 pending first author, several posters and talks. Departmental neuroscience award, McNair scholar, presented at 2 academic conferences. I expect fantastic LoRs, and I'm working on the SOP. School's I'm interested in: UCSD, UCSF, Stanford, Yale, CalTech (Brain, Mind, and Society program), Wisconsin (Madison), Michigan (Ann Arbor), U Conn, WashU, U Oregon, U Iowa, and possibly NC Chapel Hill, MIT, etc...

I have a cumulative GPA of 3.76 (double major psych and neuro) from a select liberal arts college, a GRE of 1300 (630 verbal, 670 math), high honors in neuroscience, 4 years of research experience in several labs labs with much indpendent work, will have 3 journal articles (2 first authors, 1 second), several talks and posters (including SFN, SPSP, undergrad research fairs, and McNair) and fantastic letters of rec. My advisors have said that they expect I will get into several of the "top" schools I am applying to (UCSD, UCSF, Stanford, Yale, Michigan, etc). Of course I don't know whether I actually will get in to these programs, but it sounds like you are doing even better than I *numerically* (obviously it's hard to compare our more intangible abilities), so I would expect you to get in, too! It was reassuring for me to speak with my mentors about the strengths and weaknesses of my application. You could try doing the same--maybe it would make you feel better?