TommySotomayor

I know this is a highly competitive fellowship (i.e., I assume that other applicants don't want to expose their own "trade secrets"), but I'm just curious to hear other applicants' thoughts and/or questions on this process. For example, other than your advisers, who is reviewing your Personal Statement and Graduate Research Plan Statements? Also, how many references are you including, especially for the graduate research plan? Any other comments or questions are welcome! Thanks

I don't know what the deadline is for your program, but I know that getting letter writers to to update you on their progress can be frustrating. For example, one letter writer literally finished writing his letter within a couple of days. In contrast, another letter writer rarely responded when I asked how the letter was coming, even when the deadline was less than a week away. However, she had a newborn baby to take care of, but I saw her in the Psych Bldg. enough to know that she was merely putting my letter on the back burner. In my opinion, this indicated one of two things: 1) She was so preoccupied with her newborn child that she did not feel like writing the letter (completely understandable, but still frustrating) or 2) she didn't think much of me as a prospective applicant, which is why she was so nonchalant about it (I find this unlikely given that I excelled in both of her courses, including the Senior Capstone course in which we conducted an original study...however, I never attended her lecture course but still received an "A"). This professor did end up submitting her letter, but not until the night before the deadline (which may indicate the quality of the letter). Anyway, as I said before, I don't know your deadline, but if it is relatively close (within two weeks), it is very reasonable to either e-mail your professor, or, if you know his office hours, talk to him in person. Of course, don't be confrontational, but make it clear that you're serious about this. Finally, your future is, in a sense, at stake, so don't be afraid to be assertive, but make sure to use proper tact. Best of luck!

Another INCREDIBLY important thing that (I think) no one has touched on yet is the role of your personal statement(s) and letters of recommendations. As @Takeruk pointed out, admissions committees (ideally) evaluate an applicant's profile holistically. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that your personal statements are succinctly written and actually answer the questions in the prompt. Also, we all have a tendency to self-aggrandize (especially when you're a faceless applicant in a sea of other faceless applicants), so, if you haven't already, seek opinions from several sources on your statements. They'll aid you in crafting a statement that is palatable to the reader (i.e., doesn't include cringeworthy self-endorsements), yet still emphasizes what unique and positive qualities you have to possess. Also, since you plan on going into academia, committees will pay attention to how well you write, given that you will writing research papers, applications for fellowships/scholarships, and grants. Therefore, please do not neglect this portion of your applications! Obviously, you may have already done these things, but it seems that many of the threads on this site revolve around finding ways to compensate for an subpar GRE score and/or GPA. And while your score in the 50th percentile on the quantitative portion will definitely hurt your chances, this can be improved upon. Additionally, and I cannot reiterate this enough, your personal statement(s) are extremely important. Basically, these statements are the admissions committee's first, and probably only, exposure to your writing abilities. So, these statements should be written such that they immediately catch and hold the reader's attnetion. Also, especially in cog neuro, I think it's important to describe what kind of research you're interested in conducting while trying to be as detailed as possible (i.e., you don't have to write a proposal). Finally, I wonder how strong your letters of recommendation are. I'm assuming that most programs require three ref letters, so if only one is strong and the rest are blasé (because they aren't very familiar with you or your work), that will certainly factor in. I apologize if some of these questions/comments have already been answered, but I'm extremely tired and was only able to skim over the thread. Best of luck.

Hi joeybarua, Do the MPH programs that you're interested in applying to list the average GRE scores of recently addmitted applicants? If so, you should compare your scores to the various programs' mean scores and see how you stack up. If your GRE scores are, generally, close to or exceed the mean scores listed by a given program, then you probably are in good shape, with respect to the GRE. Other than that, I'm not familiar with what qualities MPH programs look for in prospective applicants. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I've done a good amount of reading on this fellowship and have yet to see where they decreased the number of awards given annually. I could have missed it, though. Also, I wouldn't mind hearing how other people intend on tackling the two required essays, especially the Personal, Relevant Background, and Future Goals Statement. I've read/skimmed several of them from past winners, and it seems difficult to discuss your past experiences without sounding incredibly cheesy. Oh well. I guess that's the name of the game Finally, if there are any other second-year graduates who are applying, please respond.

@Steph93 In order to gauge the competitiveness of your GRE scores, one thing you should probably do (if you haven't already) is look at the average GRE scores for admitted applicants in recent years at the programs you intend on applying to. If your GRE scores in all sections tend to be very close to or exceed the mean scores of recently admitted applicants, then you are probably in good shape. When I was applying, I remember that many schools included this information somewhere on the department's website. Also, annually, the APA releases a large book titled Graduate Study in Psychology that, among other things, includes these scores for most schools. I was able to find these books at my undergrad university's library. Finally, if you decide that you need to retake it, it may not be a bad idea to reduce the number of schools you're applying to (initially you said 18-20, which is a lot but not unheard of) since this would allow you to focus on the GRE to a greater degree. Anyway, good luck!

Based on the way you described them, your credentials seem excellent. Given that and the fact that you haven't even taken the GRE yet, I do not see a need to stress about your GRE scores. Just get plenty of rest the night before, and try to go into it as relaxed as possible. Good luck!

Why such dark interests, bro??

I currently attend UIUC. Just out of curiosity, did you apply to the Visual Cognition and Human Performance (VCHP) or Cognitive division? I'm in the Cog Neuro division, btw. Anyway, good luck with your apps. Those are, obviously, all stellar schools you applied to.

"My writing skills are amazing" he/she says...

From what I have learned by reading online and what not, those are very solid GRE scores. They shouldn't negatively impact your chances at most universities, especially if you also have a good GPA. Remember that GRE scores and GPA are, from what I've read, used for screening the first-round of applicants. After that, your fate is dependent on the other factors homonculus listed above.

Hmmm those are both interesting subjects. If you feel like you enjoy both equally, you probably won't go wrong with either. Personally, I want to study the interaction between emotion and cognitive processes, maybe with a focus on people with mood disorders.

I'm also applying to programs in cognitive neuroscience. My specific interests were partly informed by research I did in an undergraduate research course on cognition, and also by reading some potential mentors' research articles.

I'm a first time applicant. Should be sending out apps within the next couple of weeks, and I'm applying to eight programs. I hope to study emotion-cognition interactions and their neural underpinnings.