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bkim346

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    2019 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    12 hours ago, nanobasiness said:

    I’m in the same boat :( I applied to 8 schools and it seems UCSD, UCSF, Brown and UCLA are done.  I’m not sure what a proper next step would be. Does anyone have any opinions on that?  Would a post bacc be a good way to get into grad school or finding a lab to work in?  What are other options?  This is so disheartening :( 

    Hey, I wouldn't lose hope just yet. 

     

    But a great next step would be continuing to get research experience. There are many postbac programs, such as the NIH prep through schools or NIH postbac IRTA at NIH, that will give you more experience and can help you next application cycle. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to know more about the NIH postbac program. I'm currently at NIH and really enjoy my experience here.

    2019 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    24 minutes ago, skippinglives said:

    Anyone know details about when these schools will send out requests?

    NYU Neural Science, Columbia Neurobiology, Icahn (Mt. Sinai) Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh CNUP, Emory Neuroscience, NIH-Brown GPP Neuroscience

    For the Brown-NIH GPP I believe they will be sending them out late next week.

    2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    Hey all,

    I applied last year and didn't have great luck, but thankfully I've been able to get great research experience and hopefully, this will boost my chances. I'm pretty hopeful that I'll be accepted somewhere, but It'd be great if I could get some feedback on what seems like a strong point and if I should address anything in particular in the essay.

    Thanks!

     

    Undergrad Institution: Large Public school, very heavy on research and engineering.
    Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
    Overall GPA: 3.08
    Position in Class:  Average
    Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

    GRE Scores (revised/old version):
    Q:165
    V:157
    W:4.5



    Research Experience:

    Undergrad lab

    Undergraduate research at school in an electrophysiology lab studying neuroscience  - Peripheral cuff electrode design and fabrication for bioelectronics

    5 semesters part-time and 1-semester full time

    1 conference poster

    2-second author publications and undergraduate thesis

     

    Current Lab

    NIH postbac research fellowship studying sensory neuroscience - Studying the olfactory system in locusts to understand the coding of odor information in turbulent plumes

    About a year and a half and still going

    2 poster presentations at  major conferences, and 1 poster presentation at NIH

    This project is in the process of being published and I will be a 2nd author.  (High Impact factor Journal)



    Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

     

    Best Poster award at NIH - Postbac presentations only

    President's Undergraduate Research Award at School 

    Scholarship for graduate classes at NIH 



    Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

     

    TA for 2 semesters for Engineering class

     

    Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

    I took a graduate level Neuroscience course and got an A which should help my GPA situation

    I mentored 6 different people that I could talk about?...

    My PI would really like for me to do my PhD here and he knows the admissions board very well

    Currently collaborating with a lab at UCSD and will be publishing with them and their PI likes and knows me!



    Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

    Electrophysiology for 4 years with different animal models

    A lot of electrical engineering classes (almost got a minor)



    Applying to Where:

    Brown-NIH Graduate Partnership Program  - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Olfactory or Vision)

    Johns Hopkins - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Vision)

    Upenn - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Vision or Olfactory)

    Baylor Medicine - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Olfactory)

    UCLA - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Vision or Olfactory)

    UCSD - Neuroscience or Salk Institute - Sensory information processing (Vision or Olfactory)

    Caltech - Neurobiology - Sensory information processing (Vision)

    UC Berkely - Neuroscience - Sensory information processing (Vision)
     

    For the schools I've picked out at least 2 profs I would like to work with and do what I would want to do, and I keep going back and forth whether I should reach out to them and try and meet them during SfN. It seems a little early to be trying to meet with them, so if you could give some advice on that I would really appreciate it too. Thanks again!

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    On 10/7/2016 at 6:18 AM, Bioenchilada said:

    Did you see those stats here? The thing about GPA is that it tells you nothing about your ability to do research, or the amount of connections someone has. So, that person with a 2.67 could be a Stanford legacy with 4 years of experience, or just someone that had letters from 3 Nobel laureates, you'll never know. I'm not by any means discouraging you from applying, but I've seen people with 4.0s and high GREs literally get rejected across the board because their SOP was weakened due to a lack of diverse experience, which also has an impact on LOR "quality". 

    I think you have nothing to lose by applying, so might as well do so to see how it goes. At the same time, I suggest NOT lowering your standards when it comes to picking schools, unless you truly want to go to that particular places. "Safeties" are more of an undergrad thing, and applying to a low tier school you have no interest in could definitely lead to a rejection. 

    I also suggest applying to postbac programs or maybe even lab tech jobs later in the game to increase your chances for next year, if you don't get in. I'm confident that you can, at the very least , land a 1/2-year tech position at a top 5 school. :) 

     

     

    @biochemgirl67

    Thank you so much, everyone. The other options are definitely something I will follow through on. I appreciate the different thoughts about the different options I could take, and I wholeheartedly agree that I could improve my app with more diverse research and post-bac to show that I can do well with courses.

    What @blc073 said, also raises a critical question that I will definitely have to think more about. I am very set on an  academic career path, and I know I will enjoy being in a Ph.D. program, but like you said am I willing to settle?

    I will keep my options open and keep the forum updated. Thanks again!

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    14 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

    I don't think that's the issue.  I think a DVM-PhD might be an interesting LoR, especially if you've worked closely with her for a long-term project.  If this is not the case, then maybe you need to take 2 years to be a lab assistant and get another strong letter.  If you really are set on applying to the schools you've listed, I think you may be in for some disappointment this time around.  Maybe be a bit more realistic about the programs you've chosen based on the fact that you have a quite low GPA and have one sustained research experience.  Your publishing will be a huge plus, but not enough to counteract the other deficiencies at the schools you've chosen.

     

    Thank you for your thoughts! And I've worked with her for a long time, so I expect a very strong letter.

    This is, of course, a long shot, but what do you suggest I do at this point to strengthen my app? Even if it meant I apply again the next admission cycle?


    I've seen admission stats where people with GPAs of 2.67 - 3.9 being admitted to top schools and I was thinking maybe the publications will be able to show that I am able to conduct research and follow through well and help me get through. 

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Bioenchilada said:

    Did your lab work closely with any other labs whose PI might vouche for you? 

    Unfortunately, not. The closest person I have is the veterinarian who also conducts her own research and publishes, but is still technically not a PI.

    I realized a little too late that I should try and work with more than one lab. But I was able to get the publications out for working long in one lab at least. 

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, Bioenchilada said:

    Yeah, the fact that you did research full time for half a year will definitely be beneficial. I might have to retract my statement about you not having enough experience. However, letters are still an issue, which is the problem with only working in one lab.

    DO NOT ASK A PHD STUDENT FOR A LETTER. It's really not okay lol

     

    :D Thank you. I figured, but thought I'd ask still. 

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted · Edited by bkim346

    46 minutes ago, Bioenchilada said:

    Hmm, okay. I think your GPA will hurt you a lot in this round of applications, especially considering the schools you are applying to. Although you don't really have a lot of research experience, you published a lot in your lab, so I really don't know how that'll impact your application. Lots of applicants don't have publications, so maybe positively? You're already retaking the GRE, so I'm not really commenting in that, though this is one of the least important parts of your app. I'm concerned about your letters since only one of them comes from a PI. There's a limit to how much a person that didn't mentor you can talk about your performance in a lab, even if they have a PhD. I think you have too many reach schools in you list based on your credentials. I'm not by any means saying that you shouldn't apply to them, but you could benefit from diversifying your list. 

     
     

    Regarding research, I should have mentioned that I have taken summer and this Semester off in order to pursue full-time research. Would that be a beneficial factor? 

    And for the LOR, do you think my mentor who has worked very close with me, a PhD student, might be a better Idea then?

    Thank you so much for your time!

    2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted · Edited by bkim346

    Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Engineering School in the US (Strong in research)
    Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
    Minor(s): N/A
    GPA in Major: 3.13
    Overall GPA: 3.01
    Position in Class: N/A
    Type of Student: Asian Male, Domestic

    GRE Scores (revised/old version):
    Q: 162
    V: 155
    W: 5.0

    Research Experience:  

    A year and half of research at my school in an electrophysiology lab focused on the periphery. The work I have done focuses on neural electrode fabrication and conduction block with electrophysiological measurements. I have 4 publications (1 first author, 3 second author all in respectable journals.) and 2 poster presentations at a major conference. 


    Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

    President's Undergraduate Research Award (Within School)

    Dean's list twice - most recent year and 1st junior semester

    Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

    Teaching Assistant for heavy engineering course

    Special Bonus Points: 

    Strong LORs from on campus veterinarian, famous PI  and prof for TA  class.

    .All experiments for publications done by me. 

    Writing a thorough undergraduate thesis based on the work on the publications.

    Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

    Invited to student panel and visit NSF funded Engineering Research Center -  Center for Autonomic Neural Engineering 

    Applied to GRFP

    Mentoring - freshmen BME students - BME department

    Mentoring - Potential freshmen - Admissions department


    Applying to Where: 

    Johns Hopkins - Neuroscience

     Janelia research Campus  - Joint Program with JHU 

    George Town Univeristy - Neuroscience

    University of Maryland - Neuroscience

    CalTech - Neurobiology

    UC - Irvine - Neurobiology and Behavior

    UC - Berkely - Neuroscience

     

    I'm interested in investigating the perception of sensory information in the CNS and move on from the periphery. 

    I plan on taking the GRE again as my quant score fell short of what I expected from practice tests(165 - 170).

    Anyway thank you so much for your time and I know I fall very short with my GPA, so I wanted to get some different views on my prospects.

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