Asimio

Thank you. I had a terrible day at work after reading this thread and this consoled me, even though it might just be for a bit.

Oh Gosh, I'm guessing I'm not going to get in anywhere (no emails/calls). Anyone get invites from Boston GPN or their brain and behavior program?

Which programs are these? Most of the ones I stumbled upon had 1 Dec deadlines. @Gvh I hope so *fingers crossed*

Hey guys! I've applied to mostly Neuroscience programs, which have a strong quantitative aspect (Computational/Modelling/etc). Some of them are cognitive psychology programs; I've applied to Penn State, Colorado Boulder, Boston University and will be applying to U of Rochester. Everyone on gradcafe has such amazing profiles, makes me incredibly insecure; especially considering my unorthodox academic background and lack of experience (not to mention my age, sigh). BTW, Masters programs aren't funded correct? And quite pricey from what I've heard?

Oh God, I did the same thing. I'm sending out emails to all my programs that still haven't received my scores.

Here's a great guide http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/advice/prospective.html

Hello, I'm considering a masters program due to my lack of research background (MBBS, which is a degree in clinical medicine) and the opportunity to boost my profile and gain more research focus. I've only found programs in Stony Brook and at Pitt (which is almost impossible to get into for an international) Any other good programs that will help transition my career into a a basic research tilt? I'm into systems neuroscience; using both theoretical and experimental methods. Thanks!

Sounds good! We should extend this thread to Essential reads for Grad students! I can't seem to edit the poll. but if more people start contributing I'll start putting up names on the OP.

Hmm, will get on it ASAP. Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it.

There are so many people doing Neuroscience research, can you suggest any guidelines that would make the process of finding an interested PI faster? I often find many people doing work that I find interesting; should I be targeting any specific group of institutions/locations/etc?

Woah, that sounds pretty cool. Still having no luck with finding a place to volunteer though, but am holding onto faith since there are loads of places to apply too. I would still want to formally learn how to conduct research though, I feel I'd be heavily limiting myself if I didn't I feel. It's an excellent start though, have you ever heard of going post doc and then going for a doctorate?

Come on guys! This is sticky potential stuff!

Hmm, yeah. It's cool how you can go for a Biology masters, and choose something like Neurobiology as a major. Thanks guys. They're all SOO expensive though.

Hello everyone. I'll give you a quick run through of my situation. Graduated in 2012. MBBS (Medicine and Surgery so I'm transitioning from clinical to basic science) Pakistani citizen. No research experience. Sub-par GPA. I feel that by the end of the year, I will not be competitive enough for a good Neuroscience program and so am planning my Plan B options. I'm thinking of considering a masters program (though I do not know which one nor if I can afford it) to really get some research experience, so that I can get the time to immerse myself into studies and have the opportunity to improve upon my poor track record. I have been feeling this is a good way to go about things after reviewing current work being done by top programs. Theory and methodologies are in use which I am massively unfamiliar with and this makes me feel very uncomfortable. I value high impact work over getting done with my PhD quickly and getting paid. I can't seem to find any terminal master programs in USA. Are they restricted to Canada and EU only? Is this an intelligent way to go about things considering my final destination would be into a PhD program?

Yes, I have an MBBS. But an MBBS doesn't count as a doctorate degree, correct? I'd have to push myself though the USMLEs for that. I just abandoned my long USMLE step 1 struggle recently after talking to two american professors and my USEFP (United States education federation Pakistan) advisor who convinced me that I'm better off doing something else with my time rather than toiling away at the library all day long. So now I'm laboriously emailing faculty asking to volunteer in their labs as well as reading everything about the applications process in the hopes of finding way of improving my chances.