RDV_neuro

UDel Behavioral Neuro interview on 1/29, notified 12/18. Also, hi there everyone.

I can speak from experience, as I'm in this program now: Villanova University (Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania) has an M.S. program in Experimental Psychology, with 3 PIs doing neuroscience work. About 2/3 of the students get assistantships with some kind of funding (tuition only, tuition + $800/mo, tuition + $1700/month). The best way to get an assistantship, in my experience, is to be assertive and ask for one. They say it's merit based, and I'm sure it is on some level, but most of the cohort are all equally deserving. I have yet to hear of someone who made it known that they really needed funding and didn't get any. The folks who don't approach anyone about it seem more likely to get passed over. My GA-ship got me in with one of the neuroscience PIs (you have a say in who you get assigned to- talk to the PIs and make it known that you're interested). I've led 6 projects, will publish 2, had a poster at SfN, and have an interview with a neuro PhD program in a month. The grad student in our lab who graduated last year got into neuro programs at U Iowa, Columbia, and a few others I don't remember. AND the application deadline isn't until March 1st. This program was my backup plan for the 2014 application cycle, and it was a good thing. I didn't have enough research experience for a PhD program at that time, but I definitely do now. Funded programs exist if you hunt for them. And don't think that you have to go to a neuro M.S. program to pursue a neuro Ph.D., it's all about what kinds of research projects you do while you're there, not the name of the program. Good luck!

I won't go into too much detail, but I have a history with mood disorders too. I used to be a school teacher, and went to grad school to change careers because I was having daily panic attacks in my classroom. So I'm sensitive to that sort of thing too. I worked for 2 years between my finishing bachelors degree and starting my MS program. I'm in my second year in an MS psychology program and plan to get a PhD in neuroscience. When I entered my program I was freaking terrified. I had a bad case of impostor syndrome ("I don't belong here! As soon as they figure out that I'm an idiot they'll be kicking me out!") for almost the whole first year. That problem has just started to back off, and now I'm anxious about applying to PhD programs, getting my thesis on track, and attending SfN for the first time (big, scary, expensive conference). So I'm not going to lie to you: grad school is hard, it's a lot of work, a lot of deadlines, a lot of pressure. But here's the thing... EVERYONE is anxious. Anxiety, at least for me, ends up being a feedback loop: I'm anxious because there is a lot on my plate, and then I have the false perception that everyone around me is handling the workload better than I am. The perception that no one else is anxious about their workload except for me causes me more anxiety... and it spirals. I end up feeling stupid, unproductive, unprepared, and just generally like crap. Talking to other people in my program about their workload, how they handle it, and where they are in the process of preparing applications and writing their theses makes me feel so much better, because they are all just as worried as I am. That stops the feedback loop in it's tracks: I'll still be anxious about my work, but it can't spiral down into negative self-talk because I know my anxiety level is average, and so it can't make me any less effective or less intelligent or less productive than the rest of my cohort. So my advice is to make some friends in your program and schedule time to drink beer and bitch about it. It is more than likely you'll find out that everyone you know (except that one overachieving person who brags about how on top of shit they are- and screw that person, okay?) is having a lot of the same feelings you are, and that might make you feel a lot better about it. If you think your anxiety level might end up in the unhealthy range, why not start building a relationship with a therapist now so that they are familiar and trusted when you need them later?

I'm in an MS program. Some of the students here (though not me) will be going on to clinical PhD programs. I took 3 classes in my first and second semesters, in addition to a 14 hour a week job as a graduate research assistant (though I ended up working quite a bit more). I've been in the lab all summer doing research, and this year I will take one class each semester while working on my thesis and working 20 hours a week (at least) in the lab. I'm in the lab from 10-7, and I take work home. I don't usually break for lunch, but then I do work with animals so there is downtime. I spend my downtime reviewing literature, checking out PIs, writing matlab programs, working on my thesis proposal, working on publications, working on poster designs... then I go home, read some more, write some more, go to bed at 12. I probably work 6 hour days on weekends. Like others said, the research itself is a 40 hour/week job (at least!), and then I have coursework and thesis wiring on top of that. Not to mention reviewing the literature on random subjects that pique my interest... it's a lot. But if you want to publish, that's what you do.