kravity13

I've thought about this too.... but then I'm not sure how comfortable I am asking previous professors to do that. Maybe they don't have to outright spell out the issue, but I could give them the background info and ask them to just really chalk up the extra efforts I made outside of the classroom.

That's definitely the fear- that if I don't mention it, it just looks like I am incompetent in the classroom, or didn't care. I think that's not the case at all, and my professors would back me up on it, but numbers are numbers I certainly wouldn't consider myself a loose cannon by any means, and I'm not even in treatment anymore, but those 4 years were a different story. I do understand the perspective of the adcoms being wary of anyone that doesn't look like a guarantee on paper. I just wish that one number didn't blemish my otherwise decent chances of getting into my dream programs.

Hmmm... while I see your point that it might be a common reason on apps for people to excuse bad grades, I would hope that a neuroscience adcom would be far more understanding and empathetic than others, perhaps. It seems hypocritical to me that a group of people dedicated to studying the brain would have such a strong stigma against those with mental health issues. BUT, what do I know? That's why I'm posting here after all. Obviously I wouldn't make a big deal/sob story about my struggles, but it would untruthful to chalk it up to having a hard time adjusting, or being unsure about college. For me, those would be complete lies.

Kind of similar to your results- I didn't reach significance due to low sample size and relatively high variability, but also found a noticeable trend that aquatically dispersed probiotics increase spawning rate in zf, # of eggs laid by the female, # of eggs actually fertilized, and embryo mortality rate. I tracked all the stages of embryonic development (just me and a microscope in the basement of the biology building, ha), and found the embryos from the probiotic group to generally develop a little faster, again, with lower mortality rate. I tracked the fry up to 3 mo. and again, found a lower mortality rate among the probiotic fish. My hypothesis is that the probiotic may increase levels of reproductive hormones, and generally make the fish more resistant to common environmental stressors. However, due to my a, inexperience and b, lack of access to money, equipment, and time, I was never really able to follow up on that. I didn't even have enough fish to do another independent group to reproduce the results! My findings would have been maybe sound enough to do a poster session or something like that but certainly not an abstract or paper.

That's really interesting! Might I ask what you discovered? (the brief version of course )

Can you clarify what exactly means umbrella programs? Does that mean general biology programs? Or interdisciplinary programs? Sometimes the nomenclature is confusing for me. I realize that my list is a little ambitious, but so many people tell me don't go to grad school if it's not in a program that is worthwhile to you. These schools are the only ones that have a strong emphasis on psychiatric genetics, which is what I'm interested in. (unless you count applying abroad, which I would have no chance in with my GPA- I wouldn't get funding for sure). I looked at the role of aquatic probiotics on zebrafish fecundity. We unfortunately didn't have enough time/money to analyze any molecular aspects (would have loved to look at levels of LNRH or something), so it was mostly behavioral (ie tracking spawning cycles and embryo mortality rates). You could say it was a very loose collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, as that is where I got my fish from. The issue is that I can't even argue an upward trend, really . My depression was very intermittent and definitely got worse in the winters. For example even if my overall senior year grades were good, the winter was still pretty rough.

Wow, thanks for your optimism. It's so easy to feel super inadequate when a lot of what you see these days is people with amazing stats getting rejected everywhere :/ How do you like UCD? What do you know about their Neuroscience/Neurogenetics opportunities?

Would love to hear everyone's input, as I don't feel like a very competitive applicant at the moment Undergrad Institution: Top 10 Private Liberal Arts ('13 grad) Major(s): Biology Minor(s): Neuroscience GPA in Major: ... not sure, I think 3.2? Overall GPA: 3.0 Position in Class: School didn't give out rankings, but there was no grade inflation, if anything there was grade DE-flation. Many professors applied the bell curve (where majority of students in a class get Cs) Type of Student: female GRE Scores (revised/old version): considering re-taking... my practice scores were much higher. Q: 159 (74%) V: 161 (87%) W: 5.5 (98%) B: should I take this? Research Experience: -summer research internships every summer -research with undergrad professor in genetics (she now works for the NSF, so good LOR there). One poster presentation from this. -took one term off of school to do an 'abroad internship' at Harvard/MGH Psychiatric Genetics Unit. Got a special grant to do this. -one independent research project on zebrafish, for which I designed the study and even got my own small research grant for. -Current job: Research Assistant in a well known neurogenetics lab at UCLA. No pubs yet but hopefully a couple on the way... Awards/Honors/Recognitions: -completed my senior thesis on an unusual accelerated schedule (had to petition to do this) -2 small independent research grants -outstanding biology student recognition (not sure why, given my grades...) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: -Research Position in well known neurogenetics lab at UCLA. PI is pretty well known in the field. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: - some grant writing experience - undergraduate independent research - animal colony experience - did a semester abroad in Cognitive Neuroscience at a European University -programming in Unix/Linux/R Special Bonus Points: - female status (??? does this still count as a special bonus point?) - LOR: famous current PI, previous undergrad professor now a high up at NSF, other previous undergrad neuro prof now dean of my undergrad college. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: - bad grades I know it's a similar sob story, but I suffered from depression/anxiety in undergrad and therefore really struggled to maintain good grades. When it's a major accomplishment just getting out of bed every day it's hard to think about acing your exams. I'm a lot healthier now than I was even a year ago, and I think I've made up for my GPA in other ways by showing a lot of initiative through undergraduate research and outside educational opportunities. However, i would REALLY love advice on how to approach discussing my mental health struggles to admissions committee without sounding like I'm making excuses or whining. Obviously my grades are totally my responsibility, but I feel like I am so much more than just that number... Likewise, all my lab grades were A's. I am a horrible test taker but I very much excel at project-oriented assignments, which is why I love research. Applying to Where: UCLA -- hoping that I have an advantage since I work in a lab here, and it's a great school. UCSD UCSF Berkeley University of Washington- Seattle Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) (I'm from MO, originally!) University of Minnesota University of Chicago University of Colorado- Boulder Northwestern Stanford Columbia Harvard Yale Vanderbilt I realize the Ivies are a long shot, but why not? My P.I. has collaborators at several of them and so may have some sway. Halp?!