[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

6 hours ago, Scrappyhappy said:

When emailing with said PIs, should one discuss shortcomings in application - such as gre or gpa, to know if that's a deal breaker?

I agree with @mcfc2018.

The goal for you in emailing a PI is getting to know them/their research/their opinions of the program. If it goes well enough, you might build a relationship with them, and they might ask you directly about gpa/shortcomings, but don't bank on it. 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

53 minutes ago, Scrappyhappy said:

Thank you!  What area do you research in?

Neurodegeneration 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

29 minutes ago, Scrappyhappy said:

my tentative list is

UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSF, Columbia, NYU, USC (subject to a few more added - potentially abroad).

================================================================

have you/will you guys be reaching out to multiple PIs at each school?  or is that bad form?

 

Definitely not bad form, I'd encourage it. Get an idea of if the people you want to work with are good people and if they're even taking students. Reach out and express your interest in their work and that you're applying and would love to hear more about their work/the program. I had a few phone calls with faculty of interest.

EDIT: this won't necessarily help your chance at admission, but is more for you to know what you're getting yourself into before you apply. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 hours ago, Throwawaydnf99 said:

Any one know of a good place/have any examples of a SOP vs a PS? Some schools seem to require both.

ALSO, is it normal to simply contact PI's of interest asking about space in their lab's?

Open to DMs!

 

 

Definitely normal to contact PIs.

I don't know if any places to get examples of the 2, but an SOP should be more based on your research interests and experiences that lead you to want to pursue a PhD, and why you want a PhD. A PS is more of a who are you and what brought you here, academically relevant or otherwise. SOP is more about your academic life and a PS is more about your whole life. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 hours ago, mannarie said:

@BabyScientist thanks a lot, that's very encouraging! I think because my high school friends, and other people I knew from college had much better GPAs, though some were in different fields. I guess I don't know where the bar is exactly. For example, I thought for sure UNC would be considered UChicago tier, I was really thinking Washington would be a slightly better shot (just as an example of how I'm not really sure what's considered top tier versus medium tier schools). Congrats on getting in everywhere you interviewed by the way, that's so impressive! Do you have any advice for finding other reasonable (or even "safe") bets, if such a thing exists? thanks again, your post definitely alleviated some of my anxiety! 

I mean honestly it's hard to say, but that's just been my impression (the "tiers").

What I did was just think of areas where I'd like to live and look up what schools are there. If they had at least 3 faculty I thought I'd like to work with, I applied. 

[App From Scratch: Hustle for Dec. 2019 or wait till 2020?]

Why not do your best to get things together now and see how the timing works out? 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

7 minutes 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

haven't taken it yet but a practice test I've done I scored quant 160 verbal 158. not sure if this was even accurate, planning on doing another kaplan gre practice test soon.


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 recommender; l am not confident that's going to be helpful.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 6 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 CEB 
U of Wisconsin Madison - Genetics
Stanford - Biology and Genetics
Vanderbilt - IGP
Columbia - Biological Sciences

even more tentative: Harvard - BBS,  Yale - BBS, Rockefeller, CSHL, I have others on my list to look into that I don't even feel confident mentioning yet.

I need so much help, I know I'm not at all a top-tier applicant and I know that there is no such thing as a safety school, but I really need some reasonable schools I could get into. I'm not too enthusiastic about getting rejected from everywhere I apply to, and I am quite aware that these are some really great schools (that's why I'm interested!)

Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated!
 

Not sure why you're so hard on yourself... A 3.6 major GPA and 3.75 overall GPA is great. No one cares much about GRE but your scores there are fine. 6 publications is a lot - they don't expect you to have any, so they definitely don't expect first authorships.

Your chances will largely depend on the strength of your LORs and SOP, but on paper you're a great applicant for most of those schools. I'd say UNC and Wisconsin are in the "reasonable" category, probably Vanderbilt too, but I don't know much about them. I'd call Washington and Chicago "upper reasonable" , but it all depends on those LORs and SOP.

My GPA was lower than yours but everything else was about the same and I got into schools at least UChicago/Washington tier.

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

22 hours ago, charmingdiary said:

Very true! I just got massively curious because BU is the first school I've seen that has 3 different programs regarding neuro. I emailed the contact person for A&N and asked if their program is interdisciplinary in the sense that students can choose thesis labs in other programs (as is the standard for most graduate biomedical programs) and they said that A&N students should do research within their department only, which I found bizarre. My current PI found that weird too and said that unfortunately sometimes departments won't merge because of politics.

I interviewed at BU and got the vibe that there are a lot of politics between the departments. In my current program, 3 of us interviewed for 3 different programs there and got weird vibes from them. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

5 hours ago, edl123 said:

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 public school in Aerospace Engineering
Major(s): Aerospace Engineering and Applied Physics (dual degree)
GPA in Major: 3.0
Overall GPA: 3.1
Position in Class: I am assuming average

Type of Student: Domestic

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 162 (may be 161, I forgot my exact score here)
V: 158
W: 5.5


Research Experience: 

Had research at a T1 university in high school in an unrelated STEM field. Won awards for my research. Never got published in academic journals though.

Had lab experience freshman year in an unrelated STEM field (same as high school) and did mostly instrumentation and low fidelity first pass analysis

Research internship at NASA during my jr. year. I have a strong rec letter from my supervisor

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Had research accolades in high school but not much other than that

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Two internships at NASA focused on ramjet design for planetary missions (Venus and Mars)

Internship at satellite company doing orbit visualization and space situational awareness

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

My work at NASA led me to asking a professor to take up the project for a design class. We ended up having the design class and it turned out well. Got a rec letter from the professor.

Special Bonus Points: 

Took grad classes in my area of interest (entry, descent and landing/astrodynamics). Orbit Mechanics and optimal control. Didn't do well in the classes (B and C+), but I had internship experience using those skill-sets. 

I am a dual degree student. Took 18+ credits a semester in physics and aerospace engineering courses. While I was a bonehead, sometimes I just couldn't handle the workload of two degrees which led to the low GPA.
 

Three rec letters:

1 former NASA employee

1 former boss at Satellite Company (well known in the industry)

1 distinguished professor at my school in a slightly unrelated area (still within same major of study, just a bit different of a focus).

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

Was president of FSAE electric team, had plenty of good club and design team experience which helped me land my internships.

Applying to Where:

Tennessee - Aero and Astro - Autonomous Controls and Astrodynamics (MS)
UT Austin - Aero and Astro - Astrodynamics (MS)
Illinois - Aero and Astro - EDL and hypersonic trajectory design (MS, potentially a PhD depending on funding)
Georgia Tech - Aero and Astro - Astrodynamics and Space Robotics (MS)
Stanford - Aero and Astro - Astrodynamics and Formation Flying (PhD)

I think you'll get better input from the physical sciences - astronomy page or the applied sciences - engineering page. 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

10 hours ago, charmingdiary said:

Does anyone have any info on the reputation on BU's GPN vs A&N (Anatomy and Neurobiology)? 

Aside from their differences in coursework, I can't tell much of a difference. I take it that GPN has the better reputation?

In the end, no one will ask which program you got your degree from, just which school. Any degree in neuroscience from BU will, later on, come with the same prestige. It'll matter more what faculty you work with.

BU has 3 separate neuroscience programs (also behavioral neuro), which is just weird.

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 hours ago, shae123 said:

Undergrad Institution: Medium sized state school
Major(s): B.S. Biology, B.S. Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.21
M.S. Institution: small state school
M.S. Biology
GPA: 3.7

Type of Student: Domestic White Female

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Took it 2 years ago, but not submitting scores to schools that don't require it
Q: 161
V:150
W: 4.5
B: N/A

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)
2 semesters undergrad experience in plant biology resulting in 0 publications but 1 local poster presentation
3 years M.S. research (full time, >50hrs/week) in molecular bio lab resulting in 2 national conference poster presentations, 1 first author paper that has been accepted, 1 co-first author paper that is currently in review, 1 mid author paper currently in review, and hoping that 1-2 mid authorships might be submitted in the next month or two in high impact journals

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Deans list for only one semester in undergrad
small grants from undergrad and grad institutions

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
T.A. for general biology labs for 3 years during M.S.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
expecting one very strong letter from my current P.I. and two mediocre letters from current professors that I have only had classes with

Special Bonus Points:
Hoping to be on a paper with a PI that has published seminal papers in the field my MS research is in

Applying to Where:
Duke- CMB and PCB
Johns Hopkins- BCMB
UNC Chapel Hill- BBSP
Univ of Pittsburgh- IBGP
UC Davis- BMCD
UT Southwestern- BBS
U Virginia- BIMS
Vanderbilt- IGP
Iowa- BSP
Indiana University- IBMG

I am expecting some rejections, but I am wondering if I might be aiming too high because unfortunately my undergrad performance is not very strong, so any input is helpful! I am also wondering whether I should be contacting P.I.s whose labs I would like to do rotations in or whether this is frowned upon in umbrella programs, as it might look like I am contacting them to increase my chances of getting into a program.

Thanks!

Contacting PIs in advance wouldn't increase your chance of acceptance, unless you got really lucky and emailed someone on the adcomm. I recommend sending emails - it'll help you get a better idea of if you want to apply to those schools. If your faculty of interest aren't taking students, no reason to apply.

Considering your experience, you have good odds at interview offers at a bunch of those schools. It'll depend on SOP and LORs now. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

6 hours ago, smurky said:

Thanks! Publications have always eluded me. The bench work/data produced I do now as a research tech gets into papers but my name doesn't end up on it as an author. Working in a large lab has its perks and drawbacks

Hm, you're producing the data? How about analysis? Sounds like grounds for authorship... Have you expressed to your PI that you want to get on papers?

It's not a big deal for graduate admission, more so just an ethical thing.. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 minutes ago, smurky said:

Undergrad/Grad Institution: University of Nevada, Reno
Major(s): B.A. Philosophy, B.S./M.S. Biotechnology
Minor(s): Business Administration
GPA in Major: B.S./M.S. STEM GPA 3.24
Overall GPA: 3.00 (undergrad), 3.76 (grad Masters)
Type of Student: Domestic, male, Latino

GRE Scores (revised/old version): N/A - applying to programs that don't require it

Research Experience: Combined Bachelors/Masters 2.5 years lab research genotyping plants (including summer undergrad research w/poster presentation, masters symposium talk), R&D industry job researching infectious pathogens

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Undergrad summer poster presentation award, summer research award

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for senior chemical engineering capstone course teaching protein purification in partnership with Genentech, 3 years industry experience including 2 startups (1.5 years on R&D team working on diagnostic device for infectious disease detection), currently research tech in renown gene therapy lab at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Close with my PI/grad program adviser, completed 1st year grad classes, 1st gen Latino student, board member of inaugural People of Color group for grad students and lab research techs at Fred Hutch

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Poor undergrad GPA from working multiple jobs to support myself throughout undergrad that led to burnout, changed majors many times due to disinterest in certain fields, completed B.A. Philosophy then took 6 months off to work before returning to complete B.S./M.S. Biotechnology, grades improved during Masters when only working exclusively on school work and research

Applying to Where:

U of Washington  - Molecular and Cellular Biology

UC Santa Cruz - Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology

UC Santa Barbara - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

U of Arizona - Biological and Biomedical Sciences

City University of New York (CUNY) - Biology

Indiana University - Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology

U of Minnesota - Microbiology Immunology and Cancer Biology

Temple University - Biomedical Sciences

U of Maryland, Baltimore - Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Despite my GPA, hoping these schools are in reach. Counting on my LORs, SOP, and lab experience to get me in. Good luck to everyone!!

I think that's a solid list. No publications? That can be excused since you worked industry. It'll depend on strength of LORs and SOP. Good luck! 

[Advise for Phd applicant]

I've heard that mentioning during interviews that you're significant other goes to the school and you are absolutely going to attend if admitted helps your chances. They like admitting people they know will accept so they don't waste slots. 

I don't think you should mention it in SOPs though. They won't offer you an interview because of it, they'll offer you an interview only if you're qualified. 

[Ask questions about the PhD application process!]

6 hours ago, sjc97 said:

Quick question which may well have way too many variables to be answered specifically, but uni websites have been less than helpful. 

I'm an international applicant (UK) applying to a bunch of EEB programs across mostly big private colleges. In the hypothetical scenario that I manage to get one or two interviews come Jan/Feb, would there be any chance the university would fly me over? I'm aware they'll pay the expenses for domestic applicants from across the states, but I haven't seen any mention of international travel, except these application guides mentioning that Skype would be used as a last resort.  I'm hoping to avoid online interviews, since I really think it limits your ability to make an impact. While there's little chance I'd be able to afford a big trip — especially if any interview dates are interspersed — I would like to be able to budget myself over the winter, and make the appropriate allowances for my master's thesis. 

Looking for anecdotes if there's nothing concrete. Cheers. 

I have nothing concrete, but I met someone during an interview who had been working in Italy and she said they flew her over. She had to pack all her interviews into a month though to limit how many flights had to happen. 

[Day 1 of PhD and already embarassing myself in lab]

Remember that everyone coming in has a different background. There's no shame in asking for help - definitely better to ask for help than to mess something up because you weren't sure. Things fail all the time in lab, what they'll care about is how you handle it. The PI will know that what matters more is how you handle yourself - new techniques are easy to teach, human behavior... not so much.

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

3 hours ago, episome1996 said:

yes I am very well aware.

I'm applying to programs where faculty under each program studies behavioral genetics and for clinical psychology I'd still be happy conducting research as a clinical psychologist as well as practice, I've gone over these options with my adviser at the NIH. 

The actual content of what you'll be learning in each program varies dramatically, though. Generally you apply for the degree that will teach you the content you need to perform the research you're interested in. If you want to learn about genetics, do a genetics program. If you wanted to be in a neuroscience lab, usually you can join labs from different departments and still be getting a certain degree.

Clinical psychology is the most random of the three, as it gives you a completely different set of skills, but if that's another interest you want the potential to pursue, that's fair.

I'm just trying to understand how you chose genetics vs neurobiology at those schools.

Generally, I think your application is strong enough. Your GPA just might prevent you from getting through at places like Harvard or Caltech. It's all on SOP and LORs. 

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

3 hours ago, episome1996 said:

Undergrad Institution: University of Maryland, College Park 
Major(s): Public Health Science
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.7
Overall GPA: 3.1
Position in Class: no idea
Type of Student: Domestic white female

GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 156
V: 157
W: 5.0

Research Experience: 

1 year research fellowship program/ class that was created for first year undergraduate students. Was also one of the few students to win the summer fellowship and get paid to work in the lab over the summer. Research based in microbiology and genetics.

2.5 years in Molecular biology and genetics lab under the Head of the department. 6 presentations from this lab 2 and best poster presentation awards. Tons of hours in this lab, worked there every single summer and winter in college as well as for credit over the semester. Expect to be published as a co-author on a paper from this lab before I start applications.

2 year postbacc program at the NIH/NCI: working in the RNA biology section

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list for 6 semesters, Student Commencement Speaker for my school's commencement, 2 best poster presentation awards at separate regional research conferences

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for summer research class, Free tutor for children on the weekends, President of a school non-profit that donated unused medical supplies to clinics abroad for 2 years, Worked at wawa for 7 years, Crisis counselor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Have truly excellent LORs, My current PI knows a lot of people in the field and will help introduce me / email them. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: GPA dip in sophomore year. Lots of science classes with C's and two F'. This is explained by my recommender and I have a doctor's letter detailing why I could not go to class and almost failed out (due to undiagnosed mental disorder, bipolar and depression). After I got on medicine I made dean's list every semester without faltering and my GPA has an upward trend from 3.6->3.94. I took credit overloads every semester and max credits every winter and summer. I've taken classes since I've graduated in both chemistry and psychology and I've gotten A+'s in both. 

Applying to where:

UCLA - Genetics & genomics 

Berkeley - Cognitive Neuroscience

University of Colorado Boulder - Psychology and Neuroscience behavioral genetics 

University of Denver - clinical psychology

USC - clinical psychology

Harvard - BPH

NYU - Developmental genetics

Duke - neurobiology

OHSU - behavioral neuroscience

Caltech - neurobiology

Anyone have any other recommendations for behavioral genetics programs - particularly in california or florida? 

Those are very different programs. Clinical psychology, neuroscience, genetics.

[2020 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, Neuromantic said:

Yikes... Being a woman and/or minority is considered a "special bonus point"? 

Women, not as much, but minority, sort of. More funding options are open to minorities and funding agencies like to fund minorities, which means universities like to accept minorities because they're more likely to get funded by outside sources.

[Personal Statement Read- Is it too specific?]

I'm happy to read it 

[Ask questions about the PhD application process!]

3 hours ago, Bak3rm3 said:

2 questions. 

1: for letters of recommendations. I know who I have in mind. Applications for most of the schools I'm applying to open in early/mid September. Its currently mid august. When should I let my LoT know that I chose them as LoT? Should I let them know now through email or then follow up in 4 weeks to let them know right before i send out the requests? Or should I wait closer to when the application opens?

2: in the statement of purpose. For programs that use acronyms. Like Schools name, BCMB (biochemistry molecular biology). Should I spell out the entire name or can I use acronyms? 

3: do you guys have any specific helpful tools for CV and resume formatting? I have both formats but they were used years ago to apply into industry and the format and sections were organized differently to appeal to industry. 

Thanks and good luck to all those ready to apply!

-T

Ask letter writers a few months before the apps are due. If you tell them too far in advance, they'll forget. I suggest asking after apps open, in case they want to do it right away. Make sure to follow up a couple weeks before apps are due. Don't expect them to do them in a timely manner.

Shouldn't matter if you spell them out. If you have the space, go for it, otherwise, they know their own program's name.

I recommend making it a CV. Consider what's most important to them and order your sections that way. Mine was: education, research experience, publications and abstracts, other experience. 

[SOP question and possible critique for PhD in genetics?]

34 minutes ago, crispr2019 said:

That was my other concern.  There's one person that sits in the back of my mind as that possibility, but I just hope that wouldn't be the case.

Would you mind if I PM'd you the SOP?  

Not at all!

[SOP question and possible critique for PhD in genetics?]

I'm happy to help!

You also might want to consider letters of rec as a possible cause of last year's outcome. One bad line in one letter of rec is enough to blacklist someone. 

[Advice on courseload in final semester before application]

1 hour ago, serialexperimentsleon said:

Thank you so much for the response! Of course, this is a class that is very relevant to my interests and not something I want to take solely to impress the admissions committee (although it does play somewhat of a role). Knowing optimization techniques and being able to do mathematical proofs is a pretty invaluable skill in robotics and would serve to supplement my research activities. 

So would you advise against taking one less course as it might be seen as slacking? I could certainly just take two less strenuous courses instead of the one rigorous math course... But I guess I am also hoping that the professors in the committee I am interested in working with see that I am taking an optimization course and perhaps it may help my application stand out to them... I can always take the course in the second semester which will be after applications.

Like I said, they don't scrutinize every course you've taken, and they won't scrutinize courseloads. If taking fewer courses will help you do better, then do it. 

[2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results]

5 hours ago, mmalam294 said:

Hello,

I am wondering if folks here could help me in making a school list to apply to this coming Fall. I am having a very tough time figuring out a school list and any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking to stay in the Northeast region.

Undergrad --> Cornell University; Spring 2017

GPA --> 3.1 (I partied way too much in my freshman and sophomore years. Was below 2.5 for those two years. Took a year off and got 3.5+ for the last two years.)

GRE --> 316 (158V, 158Q; 4.0A)

Personal facts --> Domestic male; Indian; first from the family to go to high school and college.

Research experience --> 2 years as a research tech. 1 first-authored paper currently under revision in The Journal of Neuroscience. 2 second-author published papers (one neuroscience in eNeuro, one immunology in Mucosal Immunology).

LOR --> Should have a very strong one from my current PI at my job. 2 pretty strong ones from undergrad professors I took classes with and did well.

Personal statement --> I would say pretty strong

 

As it's apparent, my GPA is holding me back. But I cannot fix my past, and I want to own up my mistakes. Any suggestions about how to make my application better + a school list to apply to would be very very helpful and will be forever indebted.

Your GPA showing improvement over time should help.

I suggest having people review your SOP, it's hard to judge your own writing about yourself. I'm happy to help with this if you want.

No one can make a list for you - we don't know your interests. What you should do is look for faculty you're interested in working with and apply to the schools that have at least 3 faculty you're excited about. I'm happy to review such a list once you've made one.