[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

10 hours ago, DrMeow said:

Where do you see that the application is "under review"? As far as I can see mine just say "submitted".

Follow this link and input your unique University Identification Number (sent by NYU in an earlier email). Your should be able to see your application status.  http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/request/smts.html

 

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

4 hours ago, neuro449 said:

Just so everyone knows, I'm almost 100% sure that every school's admissions committee is biased and discriminatory. I have a medical disorder that is highly stigmatized in society, and even though I can do laboratory work perfectly fine (I've worked in many labs before), someone on an adcom whom i know very well told me that the school did not extend me an interview solely because of my condition. I don't want to disclose too much, but just a warning to people who will interview that if you have a medical condition (overt or covert) that is stigmatized, do your best to convince your interviewers that your condition will not interfere with your ability to perform lab work.

I'm extremely disappointed in the discriminatory nature of graduate schools' adcoms, but I just feel like I should let everyone know what happened to me so that you are all aware.

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience!  That is appalling.  

If you don't mind my asking, did you choose to disclose your illness?  Or is this something the schools discovered on their own?  I thought conventional advice was to avoid disclosing health issues at all costs -- especially if they are highly stigmatized -- until after the acceptance stage (if at all). Often times, employers and programs don't want to know so that they are protected from being sued for health-related discrimination later on.  If they don't know, there is no way it can influence their decision either way.  One program I recently interviewed at emphasized that while they were happy to accommodate any disabilities as needed, they absolutely did not want to know at this stage of the process (interviews).

Of course, sometimes it is impossible to hide a health issue.  For instance, it is challenging for my partner, who has a movement disorder, to stop ticking in an interview.

I can discuss over PM if you would prefer.

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

On 1/6/2017 at 0:06 PM, seven27 said:

I sometimes wonder if schools immediately accept a group of outstanding applicants, then are stuck deciding between 30 students with more or less comparable records for 10 interview spots.  At this point, do schools offer interviews to those who will cost less?  If I lived in NYC, maybe I would be more likely to interview at NYU or another east coast institution, compared to someone with similar credentials in Billings, Montana or Tempe, Arizona.  I mean, this probably doesn't happen, but it's something I think about while refreshing my inbox.

Also, I noticed that a bunch of people received NYU Neural Science rejection e-mails yesterday.  My application is still labeled under review as of ~10AM today according to the NYU tracking system.  I wonder if that should be an encouraging sign.

A friend of mine called NYU yesterday and confirmed this.  NYU's Center for Neural Science (under GSAS) sent out an immediate group of invites (great fit) as well as an immediate group of rejections (poor fit).  Now they are sorting through the middle group.  I'm still "under review" at this time as well.  I'm not necessarily expecting an interview at this stage, though.  Relatively speaking, NYU isn't my strongest research match.

Side note, Michigan didn't receive one of my LORs until 12/23 -- after interviews went out.  I would have sworn it was submitted before the 12/1 deadline!  *sigh*

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

13 hours ago, guest2130 said:

Any other behavioral neuroscience applicants? I'm still waiting but I think that's still normal for the programs I applied too (only 3! yikes :/) ?

I am!  I'm especially interested in mood disorders, learning, pair bonding, and drug addiction/pharmacology.  I approach things through the lens of molecular biology, so I applied mostly to neurobiology programs as well as a couple psych programs.  In retrospect, I might have benefited from applying to a couple umbrella programs, as I have additional extensive research experience in fields other than neuroscience (cancer biology, inflammation, gastroenterology).

I'm not sure about the timelines for your programs, but I hope you hear back with exciting news soon!  

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

1 hour ago, yaybrains said:

This is kind of a dumb question, but are any of you planning to take your laptop with you on interview trips? Not to actually have on you at the interviews, but to use in the hotel room, maybe during free time or at night. I'm having trouble deciding if it would be a hassle or if it would be helpful.

Yes, absolutely -- but I'm expecting to have to work remotely while traveling.  Bringing a laptop (or tablet) could also be good if you want to relax, game, look up faculty profiles, etc.  

[Dressing for interviews]

I frequently have to go back and forth between patient procedures and the lab bench, so I'm planning on wearing some of my clinic dresses.  I'll pair with low-heeled booties, a camisole for modesty, and black leggings for warmth.  I own a suit, but I feel ridiculous in it.  I'd rather wear something I'm used to working in.

 

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

2 hours ago, nihchick2017 said:

sorry to say it's not trolling...I got an invite this morning 7am my time (10pm PST since I live in Europe atm). Even as someone who got an invite, I can honestly say it's kind of shitty for them to send them out on Christmas. It was a great Christmas present for me, but probably not great for people who didn't get invites.

2 hours ago, Janiejoneswoah said:

I got an invite for UCSD neuro last night at about midnight -- I'm not trolling either! I agree with the previous poster, it is not hugely nice to send invites on Christmas... Perhaps they will send more today and tomorrow.

 

Oh no, it's absolutely fine.  Thank you both for verifying, and best of luck to you both!  I just wanted to see confirmation from someone on this thread rather than a single post on the anonymous school list before I made any additional scheduling decisions/assumptions.  

A few days ago, someone posted a Cornell invite early on the anonymous school list (nobody had posted confirmation here yet).  I ended up falsely assuming I was rejected from Cornell and booked an alternate interview over Cornell's one interview weekend only to have them invite me a few days later. Now I'm stuck with a big scheduling mess trying to arrange an alternate visit at Cornell.  Knowing UCSD has sent its invites out already makes it MUCH easier to figure out what to do with scheduling for my other interviews.  Thanks again for the clarification!

 

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

9 hours ago, pitt_neuroundergrad said:

saw a UCSD invite on the results page for today?? 

I think someone's trolling.  UCSD normally invites in mid-January.  Why would they release so early on a holiday weekend?  I'll believe it if other people on here start getting invites.  I would be nice to have closure from UCSD for scheduling and peace of mind.

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Happy Hanukkah!

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

7 minutes ago, Tessellate said:

Was this for their first weekend only or both?

The Emory invite was for both weekends.  They're still cutting down the 53 interviewees at that stage.  The email emphasized they want a final class size of 15.

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

7 hours ago, anon15 said:

Do you know who we're supposed to contact with our choice of interview weekend? The email just says "let us know" and I'm not sure who to email exactly. I'm assuming we email the program administrator but I thought I'd check here first.

I replied to the program admin, since he's the one handling the logistics for interview weekend scheduling.  If you later have more specific questions about the PhD program itself, you should contact the Admissions Committee Chair.  

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

19 hours ago, lucky_panda said:

Has anyone heard back from the computational neuroscience at the University of Chicago so far? 

I know UChicago's Neurobiology  program reviews on a different  schedule than Integrative Neuroscience (invites in Jan).  I am not sure about Computational  Neuroscience  in specific, but that one is likely  on a different  schedule as well. 

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

Just got a voicemail invite from Emory!  They'll be following up with email invites shortly.  For anyone trying to balance a bunch of interviews, the two weekends are 2/2-2/4 and 2/16-2/18.

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

Just heard back with an email invite to UCLA also!!  

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

4 hours ago, cmykrgb said:

People without interviews!! Thanks for responding to my post! Honestly, I am slowly dying from the inside. I wish best luck to you all and I am pretty sure we are all very qualified to go to a Phd program but just not have the chance yet. I have terrible gpa (and not for any personal reason) and I thought two years of undergrad research( at two different labs) and two years working as RA with first author publication in prep would dig me out of the hole. I was hoping by this time I would have at least one interview. I guess I was wrong. (Also made the mistake of applying only to high end schools) I am not sure where I am going with this but just want to put out my frustration somewhere so I can stay sane.

Those of you with interviews already, congrats!! I hope you get into your dream school!

No worries.  I feel you.  I hope you get some interview offers soon!  I've gotten 2 interviews and have a prescreen set up for next week, but I'm also bummed at missing interviews for some schools I thought I was a good fit for.  I interview well (and my odd background is easier explained in person), so this was a big disappointment.  After missing some of these targets, I'm concerned for how the rest of this cycle will play out.

I was told by an adcom from a high-ranking program that I had a really competitive app, and that I should expect a lot of interest.  My letters were stellar.  My GRE was OK, not amazing (165V, 158Q, 4.5W).  My undergrad GPA is a 3.9cum/3.7 sci from a good school.  I took every neuroscience course available at my college along with a bunch of self-designed tutorials.  I did a year of independent neuroscience research in college that got published (2nd author behind my PI) in a decent journal.  A family emergency required that I take the first job offered out of school, so I had to work in a non-neuro lab.  At least it was heavy on molecular bio, so I learned a lot!  I could have -- and I guess I should have -- switched labs to a neuro group, but I didn't want to give up a first author paper I was leading.  I stuck around for 5 years to see this complex translational human study published in a good journal, and I had a number of other basic science/translational pubs come out in the meantime. I've got 6 published papers total in solid journals with 5 more in prep or review.  Yes, only 1 paper is neuro, but I've shown I can be a highly productive scientist and that I have the dedication to lead and support multi-year long projects -- even when that research is in a field that is relatively outside of my passion (neuroscience).  

I'm in my late 20s, and I don't want to sit out another year.  Hopefully some of the places I interview at choose to take me.  They're wonderful programs, and I'd be delighted to go there.  I don't mean to sound ungrateful.  I have some good prospects.  I was just encouraged to get my hopes up for even more options. 

Meh, science involves boatloads of rejection -- papers, grant proposals, etc.  You live.  You learn.  You develop a thick skin.

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

Got an interview invite (by phone) from UChicago Neurobio as well!

[2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

Good morning everyone,

My stats are in my post history.

I applied to:

UCSD (Neurograd)

UCSD (Psych - for cross-listed faculty)

UCLA (Neuro)

UChicago (Neurobiology)

UChicago (Integrative Neuroscience - for cross-listed faculty)

U Michigan (Neuroscience, direct)

Harvard (PIN)

Cornell (Neurobiology)

NYU (Neural Science)

Mount Sinai (Neuroscience) - Interview offer 12/14/16

Emory (Neuroscience)

 

Hope we all hear from more schools soon!  It's nice to know that most of my programs haven't sent anything back yet.
 

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Chiming in with another Mount Sinai Neuroscience invite!  This Escape the Room thing sounds like an interesting change of pace.  Hope to see some of you on the trail!

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

27 minutes ago, pitt_neuroundergrad said:

I was really scared to see that UPenn already started sending out interviews for neuro. Wasn't their deadline the 1st? I applied to UCSD, Johns Hopkins, Case Western, U of Chicago Boston University, MIT. Do you guys know when we are expected to hear back from any of these neuro programs?

I was really shooting for U of Chicago and Johns Hopkins and seeing that interviews are already being sent out is making me anxious as hell. I have no idea what to expect for this round

I haven't heard back from UChicago or UCSD neuro at this stage either.  I didn't apply to any of your other programs, so I cannot comment on those.  Elsewhere on the site, you can look up past interview notification dates by school.  Different schools notify at different times.  UCSD, for instance, looks like it doesn't send out interview offers until early to mid Jan.  Many of my other programs look like they'll send out notifications within the next 1-2 weeks.

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Undergrad Institution: 2nd tier liberal arts school
Major(s):  Biochem (BA), Music (BM)
Interdisciplinary Area:  Neuroscience
Minor(s):  Psych
GPA in Major:  3.72 (Biochem)
Overall GPA: 3.90
Position in Class: no ranking, but I graduated summa (highest honors)
Type of Student: Domestic, GBLTQ female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:  158 (70th)
V:  165 (95th)
W:  4.5 (82nd)
B:   n/a

Research Experience: 

Undergrad:  1 year part-time research in neuropharmacology, electrophys, and behavioral neuroscience  ---> one 2nd author paper

 

Post-bacc:  5 years full-time research at R1 school in unrelated field (molecular bio experience in gastroenterology)  --> one 1st author pub, one 2nd author pub, three middle author pubs, several additional manuscripts in prep/review, a bunch of abstracts/posters

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:  

Phi Beta Kappa

Psi Chi

Pi Kappa Lambda

Dean's List every term

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutor, laboratory instructor (in neuroscience), medical scribe

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:  I have 2 separate Bachelor’s degrees.  Not necessarily a big benefit, but it's interesting/unusual.

Special Bonus Points: not particularly, LORs should be very strong

Applying to Where:
UCSD 

UCLA

U Michigan

Harvard

Cornell

NYU

Mount Sinai 

Emory

***My research interest is in molecular mechanisms underlying behavior  (Behavioral Neuroscience).  I picked programs based on faculty interest.  All of these schools are strong in that area with 6+ people I would be happy to work with.

My main concern is that programs will be worried about me working in a non-neuro lab for so long.  I stuck around a while to finish up my first author pub and gained a lot of molecular bio experience in that time.  My undergraduate work is all in neuroscience (published), and the GI could be useful if I do gut-brain axis someday.  I’m also a bit worried about my quant score and lack of subject test.  **Fingers crossed**