The Psyche

Hi everyone, I am currently in my final year and would like to have one more year of experience before applying for PHD. I now have three choices: working as an RA at Chinese Academy of Science, or an RA at a local mental hospital (Hong Kong), or taking a master program. While my first choice would be working at CAS because it provides the most relevant research experience, I am a little bit afraid that US schools might not weight an RA experience in China that much. The mental hospital choice would be less directly related to the field that I want (cognitive neuroscience), nevertheless it should provide a decent experience in working with patients. A master program would give me some advanced knowledge and technical advantage (in working with brain imaging perhaps) but might have the least research experience. What would you suggest? What other factors should I consider (except monetary and location)? Thank you for your attention.

Thanks a lot for your reply and I admit I am overthinking, after all it's a big decision in life and I don't have a strong background so I have to maximize my chance. Your suggestions are very helpful and I will work on excelling my work instead of worrying about what I shouldn't. Thanks.

Hi guys I am planning to do voluntary research work for professors and now I am stuck between a professor that graduated from a top tier school that I wish to apply to, and a female professor which also graduated from a prestigious college (call me superficial but I have heard that LOR from a female professor is a plus if everything else is equal). I am interested in both professors' works, and they are both good mentors as I've heard, so what comes next is their LORs. Is it an advantage to have a LOR from a professor that graduated from that school that I apply to? What other factors should I consider? Thanks.

As a psychology major, I am really interested in the topic of neuroplasticity as well as brain stimulation. However, my school provides little to none neuroscience courses and I have decided to learn by myself. But I have little idea which specific topics (e.g. organic chemistry, physics, engineering?) are related to these two themes, so can you kindly suggest me what fundamental subjects I have to learn before pursuing these two topics? And how should I approach them? Are there any schools that specialize or are famous for these topics? I have also searched for some scholars in the field and found that they are mostly neuroscience based and some of them even studied med school, is med school a must? And with a background that is not specifically trained for neuroscience, how should I equip myself to do research in the field? Thank you very much for your reply.

Thanks iphi and Jay's Brain! iphi do you mean a Master Degree from China or any Master Degree in general (even in USA) will not make a difference? Assume both situations get equally good publications, will Master degree from USA get advantage over that from China?

Hi all I am currently an undergraduate from Hong Kong and I would very much like to pursue a research career in USA. I now face a dilemma which I want a master degree as a stepping stone for applying for PHD in a prestigious school (for practical reason of future career development and for self-esteem reason, and I do understand research interest fit is the utmost important) because my undergrad school does not rank high and I only have mediocre GPA (3.7 out of 4.3) and research experience (simple survey/data collection, and no publication). In this case, does having a MPhil from China (or specifically Chinese Academy of Science) help in my case? Would it be better if I have a master degree from USA? Please don't judge my naive mind and I appreciate all your comments. Thank you.