[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

3 hours ago, Fruit Flies said:

Thanks! I was freaking out for a second haha. Did you get invited for both? Do you think it will be awkward interviewing for both at the same time?

I interviewed for one of them in the past. It's not awkward - everyone knows both programs exist and is super nice/treats everyone the same.

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

4 hours ago, Fruit Flies said:

Did anyone else get invited to both Brown and Brown-NIH? I’ve heard that they only accept to one but not both. Is this true?

They accept for both. 

[Do decisions ever come out on weekends?]

They could send them out literally any day or time.

BUT you should unplug and enjoy yourself. They aren't going to take your invite away if you don't pick up the phone when they call. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

3 hours ago, ToMe said:

So apparently Harvard BBS is not anticipating sending out any more interview invites. Have any internationals gotten an interview?! So far there’s only Americans in the results listing...

And has anyone received a rejection email? In the past they have sent out rejection emails in December..

Remember that not every applicant visits GradCafe. It's totally possible that internationals have received invitations but aren't posting.

[Pre-PhD summer opportunities]

8 hours ago, Logic said:

Does anyone know of any summer opportunities (internships, classes, etc.) to stay productive or similar during the summer before starting a PhD?

For context, I just submitted all of my PhD applications in computational neuroscience so if I could find something to do in that area, it'd be great.

Some grad programs will let you start rotations the summer before starting. So if I were you I'd keep that time open.

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

7 hours ago, caffeinemouse said:

Hi everyone! Current research tech here, I applied to several neuro and bio programs (UCSD, UCSF, UCLA, UWashington, UOregon, Vanderbilt, Emory,  USC, OHSU, and Georgetown) and I'm playing the waiting game now!

I was asked by a PI at UOregon to Skype about my research interests today, which I believe is probably to determine if they'll have me for an interview. If anyone has advice on making a good impression, please let me know! Should I prep like I would for an in-person interview? 

The only prep you should need (for any interview) is knowing about your research and having an idea of which faculty at that school are doing things you're interested in/you'd want to work with.

Did you contact this person at any point or did they randomly reach out?

My main tip is ask them questions about the program/location/their lab. 

 

[Ask questions about the PhD application process!]

17 hours ago, StardustCrusader said:

How bad is it if I apply later into the season, e.g. like 2 two weeks before the deadline? Will this reflect poorly on the applicant? What if it was out of their hands? Is this something worth mentioning, in the app? Or even with a faculty member correspondent? Thanks in advance for any informative replies.

They wouldn't know or care, tbh. The only people who would probably be upset are your letter writers, with short notice to write and submit letters. 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

32 minutes ago, frzam1 said:

Hello everyone,

I am planning to apply to Tufts, UMass, and BU for their neuroscience Ph.D. programs for 2020. I'd like to pursue research in neurodegeneration.

Undergraduate GPA: 3.3, graduated in 2017, from University of South Florida

GRE: V 156 Q 163

Almost 6 years of research experience in neurodegenerative diseases from three different labs (2 at USF, 1 at Mass General Hospital) with strong recommendation letters

2 co-author published paper, 2 co-author manuscripts in submission, and 1 first author paper to be submitted, plus two other co-author papers in the pipeline.

I pretty much want to stay in MA, do I have a shot?

 

Thank you very much!!

 

Yes

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

9 hours ago, mannarie said:

Undergrad Institution: large state R1, not super well-known for biology but definitely not bad
Major(s): Biology - Biochemistry/Cell/Molecular
Minor(s): Music
GPA in Major: not sure if this is accurate, but calculating myself I got : 3.60/4.00 if major GPA includes other major requirements like physics and chemistry (C in Organic II brought me down some…).  3.70/4.00 if only considering Biology classes. Not great, I am very aware
Overall GPA: 3.75
Type of Student: domestic female (white)

GRE

Q: 158
V: 162
W: 4.5

pretty disappointed by the writing. If I had ever studied the math I guess it would be higher. not planning on submitting these unless I have to (please tell me if this is a bad idea)

Research Experience: just passed the 2 year benchmark as a research technician. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: not any related to biology, really. I did elect to do the honors concentration in my degree, which involved a thesis (but my undergrad research was lacking so i opted to complete a literature review instead)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: The full-time tech job is pretty pertinent, I'd hope

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: n/a

Special Bonus Points: I do have a famous PI as a recommender, but my 2nd rec letter is from my lab manager, both from the tech job. and 1 (supposedly strong) letter from undergrad.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 6 (now 8 counting 2 in process) mid-author publications in big journals (Nature, Science, etc) but sadly, nothing first-author. These are all from tech job, nothing from undergrad.

Applying to Where:
U of Washington Seattle - Genome Sciences
UNC Chapel Hill - BBSP
U of Chicago - Human Genetics or GGSB
Harvard - BBS
U of Wisconsin - Madison - Genetics
Stanford - Biology and Genetics
Columbia - Biological Sciences
Vanderbilt - Biological Sciences
U of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Baylor

maybes: Yale - BBS, Rockefeller, CSHL, Duke, Boston University, UC San Diego

I know it's super late (and these are probably all reaches) but I wanted to re-submit since I have a much more solid school list and my GRE scores in. If anyone feels like telling me any last minute advice, I would be ever-so-grateful. I am trying to get everything submitted soon but the anxiety caused by my procrastinating (and just being busy to be fair) is really getting to me. Thanks!

Depending on the strength of your LORs and SOP, you have great odds at interviews at a bunch of those schools. No red flags at all in your application: your GPA is great, your GRE is good (and not even important anymore), having any pubs at all is great (let alone 6-8), and your school list looks fair. Don't be down on yourself. I'd say your reaches are just Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 hours ago, scientista127 said:

Undergrad Institution: Northeastern
Major(s): Biology (BS), Bioengineering (MS)
Minor(s): Environmental Science
GPA in Major: 3.22 (BS)
Overall GPA: 3.25 (BS), 3.85 (MS)
Type of Student: domestic

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 160
V: 161
W: 4.5


Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

I went to Northeastern, so I have 22 months of full time research experience from undergrad at three different biotech companies. After graduation, I started working full time at another small immuno-oncology company, working mostly in protein analytics and biochemistry for antibodies. I am on one publication (7th or 8th author) and 5 posters. I now work in a different biotech company, working on CAR-T and engineered TCRs in high throughput functional screening.

Total research experience: 22 months full-time undergrad, 4 years full time post-grad.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
Mostly related to extracurriculars in college, but I won two school-wide leadership honors and one national leadership honor.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
I have some pretty strong LORs, one from the VP of my old company (alum of a school I'm applying to), a director (alum), an old coworker who used to be a professor and has good academic connections, and two chairs in bioengineering and biology (alum) from NU.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

I have a pretty terrible GPA from undergrad, but managed a much better GPA from full-time grad school while also working full-time. I'm hoping that will set off the undergrad ans show that I am capable of graduate level coursework.

I've been given a lot of opportunity to experiment and ask questions in my career, so I think I am articulating well the questions that I want to answer in grad school. I've also seen what drug development looks like and the gaps that still exist, which is motivating me to go back to grad school.
Applying to Where:

Mostly schools with well-established tumor immunology research. I am particularly interested in T cell dysfunction, innate-adaptive cross talk, and adoptive cell therapy.

MIT - Bioengineering

Gerstner Sloan Kettering - Immunology

University of Washington - Immunology

Baylor - Immunology

UNC - Immunology

Penn - Immunology

Vanderbilt - Immunology

Georgia Tech - Bioengineering

 

Do I stand a chance at any of these places? I tried to pick a good range of comfortable to reach schools, but it is harder to gauge attainability with grad schools than with undergrad.

Thanks!

I think you have a good chance at interview offers at a few of those for sure. It'll depend heavily on the strength of your LORs and SOP, but your GPA isn't terrible, the masters helps, and the breadth of experience is valuable. Good luck! 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

14 hours ago, jerrychuang said:

Thanks a lot for your reply. For policy reasons post-bac RA is not an option-I can't get visa to stay. But I figure public health programs should really like me because I have experience in both social science and hard science. If I am rejected by all PhD programs (which is likely) I can do lab research while finishing a MPH or something similar. For mid-tier schools, are there any recommendations? Would greatly appreciate it, thanks! 

I'm not really familiar with cancer bio, so it's hard to say. UVA, Tulane, Tufts, U of Rochester, UPitt, etc

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, jerrychuang said:

After very carefully scrutinizing through the datapoints in 2017,2018,and 2019, I am very well aware that I am not at all competitive to the candidate pools of the schools I am applying to. And I really wonder if I am applying to too many reach schools.  The good news is despite I am an international student I truly don't see having a biology PhD as the sole path to my career so I'll see how things work out...Will appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance.

Undergrad Institution: Private, ~50 R1
Major(s): Biology BS+ International Affairs BA
Minor(s): Global Health
GPA in Major: I started biology degree rather later and yes both of my orgo is C, biochem A+ though
Overall GPA:3.67
Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)
Int'l, Asian
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 160
V: 168
W:
B:


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience: 

School Cancer Center lab, 2 and a half years, 4th author in a 25 people list, ~10IF, heard would be online very soon. Signalling. Currently working on a new project, not expecting publication until next year

(And somewhat irrelavent: Social Science side, 1st author on a big-scale project focusing on a novel topic, poster session early next year, should ultimately lead to a good publication)

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

3/7 Dean's list, won uni-wide research award (5 people), school-wide , uni-wide research grant

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA, biology for non-major 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: R and SPSS

Special Bonus Points: strong LOR, PI+PI from a reknowned governmental research institution+Dept Chair+1 stellar social science recommender

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Started 1st year really roughly due to health issues, then except for orgo(DAMN) straight A in next 80 credits, (these two Cs successfully dragged me to 3.7 range last three years...Oof...) completed 60 credits in one calendar year (sorry but I can't help myself to mention here lol) 

Applying to Where:
PhDs:

UTSW (Cancer Bio)

MD Anderson (Cancer Bio)

WUSTL(DBBS Molecular Genetics)

UW (Genomics)

Northwestern (DGP)

Weill Cornell

Johns Hopkins (Bloomberg MCB/MMI)

Masters:

UIUC, Harvard MMS in immunology, Berkeley Microbiology and Vaccination (under public health school), U of Copenhagen, LSHTM

And a bunch of schools in public health realms, mostly epidemeology, really my last choices but thought the chances would be better and if enrolled will find lab

 

 

 

You look plenty competitive enough to me. If you were really sold on doing a PhD, I'd say it'd strengthen your application a lot to work in a lab for a year or two past grad. It sounds, though, like you just want to see where this application cycle goes? Your school list is relatively reach-y, but if these are all schools where you're interested in at least 3 faculty and would be happy to live in the area, the list is fine. If you really really wanted to be sure you got in this cycle, then apply to some more mid-tier schools. If you really want to go to those schools, take a year for post grad research. But again, you have fair odds at interviews at some of those, depending on your SOP and LORs. 

Good luck! 

[PhD admission requirements in transcript]

Generally if you've taken the standard intro biology coursework they're cool with it 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

11 hours ago, Throwawaydnf99 said:

I'm noticing some apps allow you to submit more than 3 LOR. Do many people submit more than 3? Would another LOR be a good idea, even if its from someone you havent worked with in a couple years?

Probably not a good idea to submit more than required unless the extras are stellar.. 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

41 minutes ago, mmalam294 said:

Wondering if you would be willing to review my SoP. Would greatly appreciate that. Finally got everything together and ready to send all the materials out!

Sure, send it over. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

5 hours ago, balisticFeanor said:

Undergrad Institution: Large State school, decent reputation in biology 
Major(s): Genetics (BA Graduating in May)
Minor(s): CS
GPA in Major: 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.4
Type of Student: Domestic Female 

GRE Scores (revised/old version): (Haven't taken it yet, taking it in a few weeks) 
Q:
V:
W:
B:

Research Experience: 3 years at my school + a senior thesis in the same lab, freshman summer internship at the American Museum of Natural History doing population genetics, Summer internship in Singapore studying cancer genomics this past summer at a pretty well known institution + lab in the field - All my worth was computational genetics projects 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: School's honors program (i'm also doing a senior thesis), summer stipend award from my department for a summer of research in my main PI's lab at my school, a few small awards from poster sessions  

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: spent several years tutoring Chem + Genetics classes for money at my school (I don't have time senior year for this) 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I'll get a strong letter from my current PI and 2 other very good letters from my summer research PIs 

Special Bonus Points: My background is computational genetics, and I'm proficient in R, python, Java, and unix and I have developed my own programs and applications for genomic data analysis (IDK if this is a special bonus point)

My school doesn't offer computational genetics as a major but I've taken the classes on the subject from my department and extra CS classes on top of that 

Maybe a Paper in december - I'm not 100% sure about this because we're still drafting it 

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

Applying to Where:
Columbia - Coordinated Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Sciences - Genetics and Development 

Cornell - Weill Cornell Graduate School - BCMB Allied program

Harvard - Division of Medical Sciences - Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Rockefeller University -  The David Rockefeller Graduate Program in Bioscience

Sloan Kettering Graduate School -  Graduate Program

Stanford -  PhD Program in Biosciences - Cancer Biology or Genetics (not sure which specialization for the application just yet) 

Tri-Institution (Sloan Kettering, Cornell Ithaca, Weill Cornell) - PhD Program in Computational Biology

U Penn - Biomedical Graduate Studies - Genomics and Computational Biology

UC Berkeley - Department of Molecular & Cell Biology -  Graduate Program Molecular & Cell Biology

UC San Diego - Biomedical Science Graduate Program - Genetics + Genomics 

UC SF -  The Tetrad Graduate Program

University of Washington - Graduate program in Genome Sciences 

Wash U in St Louis - Molecular Genetics and Genomics Program

Yale -  Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences
 

My primary interests are cancer genomics and structural genomics , and I know i'm applying to a super competitive area. All of the programs I listed have at least 5 labs associated/a part of the program I'm interested in in the subject areas I mentioned 

Honestly, I'm very worried I'm not going to get in anywhere. I'm not opposed at all to doing a few years of post undergrad work, to both save up some money and off set my weak GPA. In fact, I'm already looking for jobs near me and I think this could help me, and give me some more research experience. I'm just unsure if I should even bother applying to programs this cycle, since I feel like I'm a pretty weak applicant.   

Also would emailed professors be a bad idea? 

You're applying for way too many competitive schools (and generally too many schools). I think your application could be totally solid, and you could reasonably get in to graduate school, but your list is made up entirely of reach schools.

If you're committed to going to one of those schools, I would recommend taking a year or two to work full time in a lab, get some publications under your belt, etc. 

[Too late to email potential PhD advisers?]

Definitely not too late. I recommend emailing the people you're most interested in so you know they have room in their labs and you aren't wasting the application fee money. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, CicadaQueen said:

Undergrad Institution: top ranked liberal arts college
Major(s): Biology
Overall GPA: 3.87

Type of Student: Domestic White female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 152 (45%)
V: 168 (98%)

W: 6 (99%)


Research Experience: 

-4 years as a research coordinator in a clinical research lab, mostly focused in microbiology.

 -Year long senior honors research project working with E. Coli

-Summer internship at a medical lab in India

-Summer internship at a botanical lab in the UK

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)   

(all within school) 

-Deans List every year, graduated cum laude with High Honors in Biology

-received named academic award for excellence in microbiology

-elected to Sigma Xi

 

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

-3 publications (not first author)

-2 poster presentations

-1 oral presentation at a research forum (first author)

-certifications in grant writing and working with human subjects

Applying to Where :

(1) UT Austin—ecology, evolution, and behavior

(2) Michigan State—ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior

(3) Hopkins-- Cell, Molecular, Developmental Biology, & Biophysics

(4) Princeton-- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

(5) UPenn-- biology

 

I’m interested in evolutionary bio and cell bio. There are so many fascinating labs out there that it’s hard for me to decide!

 

My big concern is my math GRE score. I studied a lot the first time around and I just don’t know that I would do much better if I retook it. For that reason, I’ve mostly looked at schools that don’t require them, but I’m worried I’m limiting myself. Is my math score low enough to cause a problem?

GRE score isn't that important. It'll only matter if they're on the fence about you.

Your application looks strong, and your school list has a good range. It'll all depend on LORs and SOP. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, curtishill said:

Hey everyone, I hope this is the right place to post this.

I will be applying to Statistics PhD programs for fall of 2020. I am mostly interested in probability theory and general statistical theory.  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Undergraduate: Small public university. Relatively small math department.

Major: Mathematics

GPA: 4.0

Type of Student: White Male

Relevant Courses: Calculus I, II, and III, Ordinary Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, Modern Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Advanced Calculus I (Real analysis), Numerical Analysis I, Financial Mathematics, Life Contingencies, Intro to Statistical Methods, Applied Reg/Time Series, Nonparametric statistics, Statistical Process Control, Mathematical Statistics I and II, Foundations of Computer Science, Fundamentals of Programming, Object Oriented Programming, Intro to Algorithms and Data Structures

(A's in all courses)

GRE General Test:

Q: 168

V: 160

W: (waiting on score)

Research Experience: Statistical consultant on a medical paper currently in peer review, not expected to be officially published before application. Additionally, I worked with a professor in mathematical research. I was primarily in charge of the computer programming to simulate our enumeration problem; research stopped due to professors family crisis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Valedictorian of the College of Science, Outstanding Math Student Award, Dean's list each semester.

Letters of Recommendation: Professor (Department Chair) I worked with closely as a TA and took courses from, Professor I took classes from, Assistant Professor I took classes from.

Additional Experience: Experience working in R, SQL, Python, C++, C#, and LaTex. I have taken three actuary exams and pass all three. I have a year's experience working as an actuary. A few internships during the summers of my undergraduate career in Cyber and Actuarial Science. I have ample experience in math and statistics TAing and tutoring.

Applying to:

Texas A&M,

Colorado State University,

University of Iowa,

UC Davis,

Virginia Tech,

(Other schools suggested?)

 

Comments/Questions: I'm curious to know if I'm aiming for the right caliber of schools. I am concerned about not having published, how will this effect my application?

There's a mathematics and statistics forum under applied mathematics. They'll be able to help you better. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

17 hours ago, Throwawaydnf99 said:

Should a SOP be double spaced? How long is one typically?

Doesn't really matter unless they specify. I believe I went with 1.5 spacing just to make it easier to look at. I'd say they're usually no more than 2 pages, just long enough to say what you need to without droning on

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

4 hours ago, episome1996 said:

I've had trouble getting fee waivers from schools. Has anyone else had any luck / tips?

What have you tried? 

When I applied I essentially sent emails that explained that I had loans and financial constraints and didn't want that to limit my educational goals.

From my experience public schools and very unlikely to give fee waivers and private schools do it no problem. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

55 minutes ago, cephalexin said:

While it never hurts to apply to more programs, the application looks top notch and I would expect interviews at atleast half of these programs (assume he has good LoRs and SOP)

 

That's a big assumption, and no one can count on that. No one can be confident enough to only apply to top tier schools - I know people with 3.9 GPAs and multiple publications who didn't get interviews at many of those schools.

I, too, think you have good odds at getting interviews at a bunch of those schools, but if you definitely want to go to grad school next year, I recommend broadening the range of schools. If money is an issue for application fees, contact the schools and ask for a waiver. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

That's a lot of top tier schools... You're going to want to broaden your range a little. 

[Ask questions about the PhD application process!]

9 hours ago, meghanx0919 said:

How important is it to contact professors in the program you are applying to? I have heard mixed things about this or is it more important to write in your personal statement the faculty you are interested in doing research with vs emailing them a random thing saying you read a few of their papers. Thank you!! 

It's not required, but suggested. It's more for your own benefit, though, than for your application. You should contact the people you're most interested in, express your interest in their research, and ask them if they're even taking students. If they're not, maybe you don't want to apply. If they are, having a conversation with them will give you an idea of if you like them as mentors or not.

9 hours ago, meghanx0919 said:

What woud be a general timeline for preparing your applications? Such as requesting recommendation letters, looking at what type of research at each school, preparing your personal statement etc etc etc 

I finalized my schools in August and started working on my SOP. Didn't finish my SOP until October, probably. Requested letters of rec in September, sent them my CV and SOP once I was done with it, followed up in November to make sure they met the Dec 1 deadline.

The only thing that has to be done Ina timely manner is requesting letters, because you want to make sure they do it in time. You can start writing your SOP a few weeks in advance and be okay if you write well. Make sure to have people review it for you though. 

9 hours ago, meghanx0919 said:

Also I had a lot of personal/mental health issues throughout college and managed to raise my GPA from a 2.75 (sophomore year) to a 3.2 (end of senior year). Should I address this in my personal statement or will the committee see my grade improvement in my transcripts. (I went from getting Cs in lower level science courses to As in 300 level biology courses) 

That's a huge improvement! Good job. You can either throw a sentence or 2 into your SOP about how you were struggling for the first half of college but improved greatly, or you can write a whole supplemental document explaining it. Or not say anything at all, because the improvement is apparent in your transcript. Up to you! 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

7 hours ago, charmingdiary said:

Side question, what if you know professors who are on the adcom? Or you know that your current PI is good friends with someone on the adcom? I'm wondering how much networking is actually going on when it comes to this...

 

I applied last cycle and got into Pitt's CNUP (I declined and opted for another gap year) and I highly suspect it was because my PI at the time was on the adcom.

Knowing someone can help skew things in your favor, but it's still a committee. They have to convince everyone else that you're worth accepting.

Tbh if you declined Pitt after your PI pulled for you, it makes him/her look bad. They essentially wasted a slot on you they could've given someone else.