4eyes

Part of the appeal of not being a business, med, or law student is that your physical appearance/ fashion choices normatively shouldn't (and hopefully don't) affect your interview game. On a daily basis, grad students and post docs show up to lab in t-shirts, hoodies, and jeans. Of course, interviews are "exceptional" in some respects, but a large part of the reason why interviewees dress up is because they don't want to be the under-dressed odd one out -- it's more game theory than it is rational. No matter what you look like, at the end of the day, you should feel comfortable with however you chose to dress and however you choose to do your hair/ make-up (especially women), simply because the onus is on other people to judge you for who you are and not how you look. Re: @kokobanana 's advice on wearing "non-sexy" make-up: I don't think this is entirely fair -- wear however much or however little make-up you feel is appropriate, whether or not people think you look sexy. (chances are you're all an incredibly sexy bunch regardless, and your make-up choices won't change that). I am a bit tired of women being told to dress attractively but not enticingly -- you shouldn't be made to feel you were unprofessionally dressed just because someone thought you looked hot. Also re: advice that "sneakers look out of place" -- this is, in my experience, untrue. Sneakers are great for traversing campus and probably look totally fine with whatever you're wearing. The dress-up game is one more way in which international minorities, women, and less privileged students are made to feel inadequate for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with genuine merit -- so dress however you want to, and own it. No serious scientist is going to look at you funny 'cause you wore nikes instead of dress shoes. Be understanding and sensitive to your peers, regardless of how they look, and don't make people feel out of place come interview weekend just because they didn't choose to perpetuate the power and class stereotypes which make prestigious academic institutions so homogenous in the first place.

I have two weeks to decide between NYU or UCSF for a neuroscience PhD -- please drop me a line if you have any insight into the quality of either of these programs or what life is like as a broke student in either of these expensive cities! Thanks so much... any help incredibly appreciated!

for those who were contacted by NYU neuro for an interview and who filled out the form, has anybody gotten any kind of follow-up confirmation about their travel itinerary/ interview date? It may be too early but i haven't received any follow-up? thanks everyone & happy new years!

Did you get the email from a POI or the program itself?

@brainsandeggs congrats on chicago!! Was it from a POI you had already been in contact with previously, or someone you just mentioned in your app?

any ucsf neuro invites yet?

Any idea if it's rolling or if you dont get one today you aren't invited?

according to the survey, someone got a harvard PiN interview on dec 11!

did you guys mention a few POIs in each application or specifically just one? Thanks!

Hi there! Not sure about UCLA but curious to know what other neuroscience programs have sent invites so far, if you're able to share? Thanks!!

i considered emory but didn't end up applying- it looks super awesome but i don't think i would be ready to move all the way to georgia! i applied to mainly schools in the north like rockefeller, nyu, and columbia (nyc is the dream!), and will be applying to a few canadian schools after finals!

thanks for the input!! always good to hear

one other thing - i am curious to know how applying out of a canadian undergraduate will be perceived by admissions boards. do you think mcgill would be comparable to mid-tier american schools for a neuro undergrad, or possibly higher than mid-tier? i've heard mixed responses on this. Thanks!

it's a bit disheartening to think that there may just be a record number of neuro applicants this year in general, without any real increase in the number of spots. thanks for the info though!

what school is that out of curiosity?