neur0cat

I'll be 27 when I start -- applying this fall too, so if you consider yourself old, I'd be ancient!

@FeelTheBern Just out of curiosity, I was under the impression that Cog Neuro programs tend to appreciate higher Quant scores -- would you say this is not true? If you don't mind me asking, what programs did your SO get accepted to?

Hi, I'm revamping my CV for the graduate school application cycle in fall. Was just curious as to what would one list under research experience, i.e. ABC lab, supervisor, duration of involvement? Would it be more helpful to: a. provide a description of the projects you were involved in, or b. list responsibilities and tasks you performed. I find that most CVs either have more of a focus on one or the other and for the sake of brevity, I wonder which is more useful to grad committees / your potential advisors.

Thanks very much for the insight!

This was interesting to read. Just curious, I'm applying for a PhD this fall and would like to know if I should state in my CV that I had been nominated for a particular award (regional) but I declined to pursue it further. It's more of the prestige than of any monetary value, really.

@Gvh Hi, thanks for your advice! Would you feel comfortable sharing your stats (perhaps via a PM if need be) and program interviews you received? I guess I'm just worried my Quant is insufficiently good especially since it seems Cognitive Neuroscience/interdepartmental umbrella programs tend to be a little more inclined to consider Quant scores due to the nature of the field. Stanford, Yale, and MIT are also programs I am aiming for and these programs are awfully competitive. I hope I am not being overly ambitious given my application profile.

Hi there, thanks for your advice - I appreciate it! If you don't mind sharing, what scores for the GRE did you eventually get and which schools did you get interviews at? I think I'm just worried I might be prematurely cut from the top programs or if there were no choice but to dramatically reduce the applicant pool.. not sure if increasing the Q by something like 2 points (up to 85 percentile) would make a difference.

Would greatly appreciate any advice I can get - thanks!

Hi All, I know it's relatively early for such threads but I just took my GREs and wanted to get some opinion on whether I should consider a retake in light of my other achievements and goals. I intend to apply for cognitive neuroscience programs (either under psychology or neuroscience departments depending on the school) and I am gunning for top programs. I'd appreciate any helpful advice or feedback from those who've been through the process! Here are some of my stats: Female, International Applicant Undergrad Cumulative GPA: 3.91 at a large state school (not a UC school), Major GPA (Psychology): 3.97 Did a Masters in Neuroscience at a top UK university (especially known for neuroscience). Graduated with Distinction. GRE scores: 167 V (97%), 161 Q (80%), AW unknown Publications: 2 peer-reviewed papers (1st author), 1 review paper (albeit in a journal with a pretty high IF), 2 papers currently in the process of being submitted. 3-4 posters at international conferences (SfN, INS) Awards: Young Investigator Award at a national conference (oral presentation of poster) Best Undergraduate Honors Thesis Award Tuition Scholarship for Academic Excellence Multiple Dean's Lists Phi Beta Kappa Research Experience: ~5 years including UG honors year+MS. Worked in both labs and research hospital settings (my interest lies in cognitive neuroimaging and disorders). Other relevant information/skills: UG TA, relevant technical skills such as familiarity with Linux, MATLAB, use of neuroimaging software. ----- Basically I am unsure if my current GRE scores are competitive for top tier programs. I know MIT BCS has mentioned competitive scores fall in the range of >85 percentile for both V&Q and my Quant is a little weaker, though I'm not sure if my Verbal score will make up for it. In addition, the fact that I am not a local applicant and I did my bachelors at a state school makes me a little wary of how my application would stand if I were to apply to top programs (e.g. Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley etc). I think I am in the range for Duke and Berkeley based on their past admission statistics though again, I'm not sure if the fact that I am international and from a state school in the US would put me at a huge disadvantage. Would appreciate any advice/opinions!

Hi All, I have two parts that are related to this question. Firstly, does having "a good fit" necessarily imply that one has had some prior, concentrated research experience that is aligned to that of the particular lab/adviser that you are interested in? I'm asking this because I have worked on different topics /different populations (e.g. healthy aging, neurological populations, children) in my undergrad thesis, masters thesis, and later on when I took a year off to do research. The skill sets used are pretty similar -- I work extensively in imaging, but the focus of the labs and projects I've undertaken can be quite different. I've always wanted to do a PhD eventually, but I really wanted to expand my horizons and find out what I wanted to focus on for the next few years of my life (i.e. what piques my interest the most, what I absolutely had no interest in etc). I have to clarify that I didn't jump from lab to lab in a few months, but was with each lab for at least a year. I'm not sure if this varied experience may prove to be disadvantageous in any way though. The second part of my question is: After working on different projects, I have arrived at the realization that I would like to (for a lack of a better word) "go back to my first love", which was the topic/field that I did my undergrad thesis in. Unfortunately, as that was a very early stage in my academic career, I do not have a lot to show for it compared to having 3 publications from my recent work. Does this automatically mean I am a poorer fit for labs that focus on topics I have now identified to be of my interest? Would my research experience and publications in other semi-related fields count for anything? Would greatly appreciate any advice or opinions!

I have the same problem as you - I graduated with a BA in Psychology in the U.S. (however, I do have 1 year of biology and chemistry, and have taken a few higher-level psychology courses with a science component, e.g. behavior genetics) and recently graduated with an MS in Cognitive Neuroscience in the U.K. I have been looking up different programs and potential faculty to work with recently as I plan to apply next year. Most of the faculty I am interested to work with hold double positions in psychology and neuroscience as a lot of the work I am interested in involves neuroimaging. Hence I am also a bit unsure if I should apply to Psychology or Neuroscience programs eventually. Some schools like Duke do have an integrated program in Cognitive Neuroscience, but others don't.