Neuro15

Great!! Good to see all you guys, best of luck to you all!

Congrats!! Just curious what was the content of the call? Did you talk research at all?

I suspect next week will be even worse in terms of frequency of checking emails! @DGD4L Side note, any fellow neuro app buddies in here?

I think we both just held our breaths there for a bit lol. But congrats though!!

You certainly don't have to but it's a nice gesture. I'm close with all of mine so I'm going to get them something once I find out where I will be going. Two of my recommenders like reminders of where their mentees end up so I'm most likely getting them a mug/thermos with the school's emblem and a gift card to a local coffee place. This also depends on who your recommender is. For some people, a nice card with a thoughtful message of thanks and gratitude would be plenty.

I know right? Kind of regretting making my application correspondence email my work email because I'm obligated to check it frequently.

Well my compulsive email checking (from Penn at least..) can cool off for a week!

Try over here, best of luck to you! http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/33-computer-science/

I think I've been looking at my email 10x more than usual today. It's Dec 2. I know there's going to be no communication for *at least* a week. It's going to be a long month haha.

Asking the important questions haha

Happy Dec 1 everyone! Hope everyone has a great app season Couple of my programs said mid-December, but it varies. My PI is on the adcom for the university I'm at now and they don't even meet to start looking over apps until mid December.

Hey everyone, perhaps a slightly neurotic question here: For NYU, they have an optional personal history component in their app that states: " The purpose of this optional essay is to get to know you as an individual and as a potential graduate student, and to understand how your background will add to the diversity of our school. Please describe how your personal background has motivated you to pursue a graduate degree. You may discuss educational, familial, cultural, socioeconomic, or personal experiences or challenges; gender identity; community services, outreach services, first-generation college status or other matters relevant to your decision to pursue graduate education." Why I want to pursue grad school in an intellectual sense is addressed in my SOP. I could address other reasons in a PS but I don't know if they'd be particularly noteworthy or strong reasons haha. So, question is: is the PS truly "Optional"? Or would I be shooting myself in the foot by not doing it?

I'll let the more experienced posters weigh in on your chances, but regarding school choice, you know Dec 1st is the deadline for a lot of programs right? Just a reminder because you're going to have to hustle to get all your LoRs/GRE/transcripts in.

Yeah it can be kind of stressful because many (most?) programs don't give you the heads up. If ETS shows that they were delivered, provided you entered the correct info that the department you're applying to specifies, you should be good. To put your mind at ease, you can always email the department admissions coordinator and see if they have your GRE scores on file.

Gotcha, yeah that's a good idea. Thanks man

On a related note, how in detail does one have to go when discussing PIs of interest? I structured my SOP in a way that leads up to a particular branch of neuroscience, and then I list profs in that area at the school. I really don't go into detail on each prof though, I pretty much just list them and then go on to say why the school would be a good fit.

Just to add to the "not posting GREs equates to not caring" conversation, yeah that's definitely not the case. I was at SFN this past week and went to the grad fair. The Yale professor there (from BBS) told me that they want above 80 percentile across the board.

Perfect, thanks a lot you two!

Got a question for y'all about my PS/SoP. Many programs ask that you demonstrate "why neuroscience?" as your intended program choice. Well, I didn't really even think of neuroscience until the Spring of my senior year (2015) when I took physiology and learned about the Retina. Since then (so currently a year and a half) I've been a tech full-time in a retinal neuroscience lab which has only reassured myself that neuroscience (especially sensory neuro) is what I want to do. I'm a bit worried that adcoms will think I'm not committed enough to neuro because 1.) I didn't take any neuro-related courses in undergrad, and 2.) I didn't do neuro-related research until my tech job (I did cancer bio research in undergrad). Any thoughts on how to phrase this in my SoP to allay any adcom concerns? Thanks!

Hey everyone! Just joined, can't wait to ride out the app cycle with you all. Undergrad Institution: Small, private LAC. Well regarded regionally but not known at a national level. Major(s): Biotechnology Minor(s): N/A GPA in Major: 3.33 Overall GPA: 3.33 Position in Class: No idea. Type of Student: White Male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 152 V: 158 W: 4.0 B: N/A Research Experience: 2 years undergrad. 2 years post-bacc at a large State U med school in a neuro lab. Will have 2 (hopefully 3) middle author pubs when apps are due. Will have at least one large national conference poster presentation. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Varsity athlete 4 years, student-athlete mentor 2 years. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/A Special Bonus Points: My current PI has a ton of friends at other institutions, some on adcoms some not. Has made it very clear he will be going to bat for me come app time. Applying to Where: (All for Neuro, list subject to change) UPenn Vandy Hopkins UCLA WUSTL Penn State NYU Cornell My GPA isn't going to help me —that's for sure, but what's done is done. I'm going to retake the GRE, I took it cold the first time so I'm confident I can bring it up a fair deal (especially Quan). Hopefully my experience will give me a boost. Thoughts? Thanks everyone! 0