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Ditto above; also, make sure you use those 4 free score reports that they give you!

I'm in Weyburn too and accepted for the same reasons as Dviouz. At least for the first year I just wanted everything to be as taken care of as possible since I don't live in the area... then after I've been there for a bit I can do apartment-hunting in person

Your stats overall look awesome, though you might not want to include the biology subject test (58th percentile probably won't help your application, and most schools don't require a subject test). I might also recommend that you try to narrow down your school list a bit -- 16 programs is a LOT, especially given that 1) you're going to be tailoring your SoP and potentially also Personal History Statement (some schools I applied to asked for both) to each program, and 2) the application fees + cost of sending GRE scores can easily add up to over $120 per program, and you probably don't want to be out $2000 just for applications. If you can, see if you can bring the list down to 8-10 programs; it'll be more realistic and manageable.

I don't think it would help your application, and in fact might hurt it. Talking about your SO, even briefly, probably doesn't belong in your application and may stand out in a red-flag kind of way.

I successfully defended my undergrad thesis today!!!

Seems like there's not really a bad choice to make here -- both are extremely highly ranked and will have super exciting research going on! If you can, you might want to talk more to the advisor at School L/T and possibly also students in their lab, to feel more confident in whether you really want to join that lab. Could you also elaborate more on the 'overall vibe' at S? I feel like egos might be an issue anywhere, so if you're able to get past that aspect S might be a less risky choice with lots of possible research options.

Just a note, I would warn against having at least NYU and UChicago on your 'probably not reach' list -- both are pretty competitive; just from personal experience this year I got into UCLA, Washington, and Cornell but was post-interview rejected from NYU. Overall, I agree with brainlass -- Most neuroscience programs won't have a separate computational thing; it'll depend on the lab you're in. You should look into cognitive programs, as they tend to use more computational methods than, for example, mol/cell or systems-focused programs. I noticed Duke isn't on your list, but it should be! I'm finishing up undergrad there and their Cognitive Neuroscience program has a lot of labs doing computational stuff. You may also want to look into UC Irvine. (Unfortunately both of my suggestions are pretty competitive sorry about that!!)

I just submitted my undergrad thesis to my committee! Defending it a week from today (Y I K E S)!!!

Do you know when UCLA will let us know about our housing assignments? @mccp77 @lordtiandao

Have you gotten the chance to visit School B? If not, is it feasible to do so? It might help you decide whether it's a place you could see yourself living for an extended period.

Congrats on taking your GRE!! It didn't hit me until a lot later, probably first when I asked someone to read over my SoP for the first time and then definitely when I submitted my applications over thanksgiving break and saw the toll it took on my bank account :')

Also please keep in mind the fact that undergrad and grad "prestige" are completely different ball parks. I worry when people decide that they want to apply to certain grad schools simply because of 'name brand.' You may be surprised by research fit and general environment when you're applying, and those should be the most important factors in your grad school search. Furthermore (although of course take 'rankings' with a similar grain of salt'), certain programs that aren't considered as 'prestigious' for undergrad may actually be ranked higher than ungergrad-prestigious schools for bio grad programs (one example: UC Davis's biology PhD program ranks higher than UPenn and Dartmouth). That disclaimer being said, though, GPA really barely matters as long as it's above a certain threshold (I'd aim for a 3.5). Research experience, connections, possible publications and conference attendance, your letters of recommendation, and your statement of purpose will all matter MUCH more for grad school admission. I do think staying at MIT is worth it for undergrad simply because your professors will have more connections in the field and may be able to open doors for you and help you find good research experiences and mentorship.

North, I want to be as close to campus as possible!!

On that topic, 90% of the people in my undergrad major were pre-med (in fact, in the senior thesis capstone class the prof asked us to raise hands if we weren't pre-meds and I think all of 4 people raised hands), and depending on what school your daughter is attending, this may be the case with any biological sciences-focused major. I wouldn't worry too much about perception. PhD programs don't tend to 'look down' on people interested in medicine anyway -- it may turn out to be a benefit to have more of a 'biomedical' background especially because she might bring a more translational perspective which can help with the public health relevance statements required in some grants. Like ChallengerSwimmer said, as long as she's focused on what she wants, it barely matters what her degree is in, as long as it's still sciencey. Her research and academic record in general will matter a lot more.

Hey! I'll at UCLA in the neuroscience program this fall @mccp77 I just filled out my application to live in grad student housing, so hopefully we'll be neighbors!

Hey there! I'm currently finishing up my undergrad at Duke, and don't have a car. Durham is super livable with just a bike and the occasional Uber/Lyft. I've never had my bike stolen or really heard from others about bike theft, so as long as you lock it up you should be totally fine. Where are you thinking of living? Also (if I assume correctly) you're going into the CNAP program, right? I'm pretty familiar with most of the faculty and administration (as an undergrad neuro major) so if you have any questions feel free to PM me!!

Finally made a decision and filled out my forms and WOW WHAT A RELIEF THIS IS TO BE D O N E Good luck to everyone! I hope you all end up in the places where you'll be happiest

On this note, if you've formally accepted an offer and then get off the waitlist at your top choice, how do you go about communicating that to the school you accepted originally? I would expect it to be a somewhat common-ish occurrence, but I haven't really heard anything about this.

Thank you so much! I'll definitely pursue those leads as well I see you applied for neuro this year too -- have you decided where you're going yet, and if so, how was your decision process?

This is something I considered and honestly both locations have pros and cons -- cost of living is marginally higher in LA, but it rains all the time in Seattle, etc.

The more I think about this decision the more I can't decide!!! I made a spreadsheet with weighted points hoping it would help and they're BASICALLY TIED!!!! For what it's worth: I'm interested in translational neuroscience, specifically considering either addiction or neurodegenerative diseases. I'm hoping to go into industry after getting my PhD. Both programs are interdisciplinary and draw professors from multiple departments. At both schools I met PIs that I really 'clicked' with and could see myself doing research with. How do I make this decision?!

Not in computational linguistics, but if you end up going to UW next year, hit me up!

Same same SAME! Program A has a really intimidatingly-written set of requirements both for classes and the qualifying exam while Program B seems more flexible in terms of requirements but I didn't feel as much of a fit. As it stands now, I'm psyching myself up to accept the offer at Program A because it might be harder but I think I'll be happier and come out of it a better scientist, and because I had to tell myself that defaulting to one school out of fear of the other school's requirements feels cowardly. For what it's worth, I will echo the other commenters: you got in for a reason, they see someone with the potential for success in you, and I know that if it were me, if I chose the program that was a worse fit, I would constantly kick myself for passing up the chance to work with PIs I really looked up to and fit well with, even if they scared me.

Since you seem like a really driven person who knows what you want, I think you should accept the offer at Minnesota. You know you'll be happy there, and I think you've correctly identified things that students can do during grad school to help them be successful after graduation. Since you say your potential advisor is very supportive of any direction you want to go, maybe propose some shorter-term projects that you're interested in and through which you might be able to write a couple papers. I'm sure no advisor would discourage a student meeting with them and laying out their plan to publish and apply for external funding, as it helps both you and the lab. Advocate for yourself! At any rate, I don't think you should count on other people to push you. He may be "a bit too nice," but I think that's workable as long as you keep your goals in mind and update them as to how they're progressing and ask for his advice and support in them.

Feel free to DM me as well! I am a current senior in undergrad who just went through the applications cycle and is heading to a neuroscience grad program next year. I also have a mostly behavioral basis, and the thing that really worked for me was deciding what specific behavior I could see myself working on for 5-6 years and (because this is important to me specifically) would have the potential for a broad human impact, which turned out in my case to be drug addiction. I think if you're able to consider it from a "problem-first" approach, then you can look up interesting papers and PIs who are working in the field, and apply to whatever programs will let you work with those PIs, whether they're in neuroscience, psychology, or biology. It's also worth noting that a lot of neuroscience grad programs are programs, not departments, and as such are broader, more multidisciplinary, and include faculty whose primary appointments are in a range of departments, usually including psychology and biology, along with biochemistry, computer science, anthropology, etc., etc. So if you're in one of those programs, you may actually end up working with a PI in one of those other departments.