brainlass

Is the MSW funded? If not, I would work and reapply to PhD programs.

For several universities, I emailed multiple profs with whom I was interested in working. I didn't mention that I'd also contacted their colleagues, and it never became an awkward situation. They know that you're exploring a number of options! In fact, often the profs would suggest that I also speak with somebody else in the department (in many cases, a prof I'd already contacted).

That varies a ton because it greatly depends on the university and the calibre of the program. (Also, MA vs. PhD.) Try checking the department and graduate school websites for each institution. Sometimes, the schools will release historic stats about applicants and admitted students. As a general rule of thumb, you're basically never going to see an average score below 150 for Q or V. For better programs, averages are in the mid-160s for each section (admitted applicants). In psych, verbal scores tend to be higher than quant.

I don't know how you define "acing" it, but I got a perfect score on the verbal section, 82nd percentile on quant, and 98th percentile on writing. It was my first try, and I didn't retake it. I prepped on my own, with the Princeton Review prep book and the Magoosh 5 lb tome of practice problems. I started 2 months before the test date, studying just a little every night (around 40 min). Closer to the time, I did several full-length timed practice tests. I had been doing a little better on quant when I did the practice tests, so I wasn't thrilled with my score, but I'm really glad I didn't waste time and money retaking the GRE. I had no GRE-related trouble when applying to PhD programs.

I don't know about other fields, but for Psych applications, the expectation is definitely that you do your homework and contact specific professors in advance. You should be able to mention the names of a potential advisor or two in your personal statement, and clearly state what about their research program interests you (and how it overlaps with your past experiences/future plans). When I was reaching out to potential advisors, my current mentor told me that the emails should follow this general structure: - Dear Professor ____ (USE THEIR NAME AND BE SURE TO SPELL IT CORRECTLY!) ... - Who are you? Where did you get your undergrad? If you've graduated already, what are you doing now? If you had a meaningful and productive experience in research already, who was your mentor? - What are your research interests for grad school? What about the prof's research interests you? (Be sure to drop a line referencing some specific aspect of their work, to demonstrate that you didn't just copy/paste one mass email to a hundred people) - Ask if they will be accepting grad students for your application cycle, and express interest in hearing more about their research - Attach your CV *NOTE: Cover those main points, but keep it concise. Some profs will just entirely ignore emails with a giant wall of text.

Recent UofT graduate here. I did my honours thesis through the Research Specialist program and got a publication out of it. To my knowledge, you would not be able to go back as a non-degree student and complete a thesis through the Psych department. The Thesis option is through the RS program, and it's quite competitive. I know that in my cohort and the year below mine, they only accepted 10 students each year. We had to apply after second year, then complete two years of specialized coursework and research. My advice to you is to look for paid research assistant jobs. I think your best bet would be the Rotman Research Institute (at Baycrest), NOT the downtown St. G campus. At UTSG, there's a ton of free undergrad labour available, so paid jobs are really hard to find. The only paying jobs you could likely get would be lab manager positions, and if your goal is to engage in some meaningful research and get a publication, that is not the way to go. You'll just end up swamped with admin duties, instead. However, I know that a number of labs at Rotman hire full-time paid research assistants, usually for one-two year contracts. These RAs are most commonly gaining more research experience before they apply to grad school. Bonus: Rotman is affiliated with UofT, so you may be able to get some connections already through the profs you know, and it's also more clinically-oriented research. If you get a paid research position, I think you should prioritize getting a conference presentation first, as this is generally a lot faster/easier than getting a finalized publication out. You could hope to also have a paper under review or in press by the time you are interviewing for graduate programs, but it's probably more realistic to try to get a presentation on your CV in time for the initial application deadline.

What kind of neuroscience do you wish to pursue? It sounds like your research background is pretty mixed, ranging from mental health to cognitive neuro to molecular neuro. Sometimes, all three of those areas can fall under different departments. It sounds to me like you have solid credentials (unknown GRE scores aside). However, from your description, it sounds like your past experiences are pretty eclectic, and it is unclear what your focus is for grad school. It will be extremely important to have a very good idea of your research interests and goals before applying. You'll need to be able to clearly articulate which faculty member(s) you wish to work with, and why. If your new interests diverge from your past experiences, you'll need to clarify why you've shifted focus, and how your past experience has still been valuable and relevant.

No, they will not. If they want you, they want you; universities want to compete for the best applicants and don't offer much pity for those who don't get any offers. You don't need to worry about it hurting your admission chances if you tell them that you have an alternative offer. You should definitely email them explaining the May 1 response deadline, and ask when you can expect to hear back about their decision.

I don't know about Cambridge in particular, but I know that in general, admissions takes two stages: First, the department comes to a decision, and then they recommend you to the School of Graduate Studies for admission. In North America, at least, the second stage is really just a formality. The SGS approves whatever students the department wants to admit, unless there's some discrepancy whereby the applicant was missing some fundamental prerequisite and the department wants to override that. It's possible that it works differently in the UK, but it sounds to me like you're accepted (and pending formal offer from the GAO)!

One option to consider could be online counselling psych degrees. These would prepare you for careers as school or workplace counselors, meaning that you would be working with a generally healthy population rather than those with more serious psychiatric disorders. However, you would still be able to work one-on=one with clients to help people overcome problems and anxieties, improving their quality of life. If you are unsure about how feasible it is to boost your GPA at this point, this route may be more promising because is considerably easier to get into these programs than into a clinical psych program. Moreover, the online route of administration would offer a lot of flexibility in the case of recurring mental health struggles. Best of luck!

Hey, I had actually made a thread for Duke already, but I think it got buried a couple pages down! I searched with online apartment-hunting tools and Duke's housing finder site to find a place. I've found an apartment already and I'll be heading down mid-August. Super excited!

If your GRE scores are really "abysmal," you should definitely retake them before trying again. I think it's quite likely that the reason you had such difficulty getting interviews was that you fell below cutoff points for the schools where you applied. If your GRE scores were below a certain threshold, they may have immediately scrapped your application without reading about your other excellent credentials. Prep courses are probably very expensive, but you can do a lot if you dedicate yourself to practicing on your own before retaking the GRE. You could also look into hiring a private tutor on a session-by-session basis (more tailored to your needs and don't have to commit to the cost of a full course).

I suggest you hold off applying for PhD programs until you have more research experience under your belt.

Go for it! I've worked in two labs concurrently before. It can be a great way to get diverse research experience and make more connections with potential reference letter-writers. It's also very valuable to experience working under different supervisors. Different labs operate in very different ways, and the more you sample different lab cultures, the better you can develop an idea of what you like and dislike in a working environment.

Seconding the suggestions that NYU and U Chicago should probably belong on the "reach" list, just because they're pretty competitive for this field. Same goes for UT Austin. Also, while this is obviously in the "reach" category, Princeton is an excellent place for computational neuro these days. Personally, I just accepted my offer at Duke for cognitive neuro, and they definitely seemed to have a solid representation of computational methods as well!

To be honest, it sounds to me like you're looking for cognitive neuroscience (often housed under psychology departments) programs with professors who use computational methods. You expressed a particular interest in neuroimaging; you won't get that at all if you go a comp sci route. A dedicated, standalone "computational neuroscience" department is rare or nonexistent, I think. I would also check out cognitive science programs.

Hi, I'm a current undergrad at University of Toronto. I applied to both US and Canadian schools for PhD programs this cycle (I am a dual citizen), and I'm good friends with a number of grad students in our department here, so hopefully I can vouch for the experience of international students. Short answer: Yes, I think it's certainly worth applying! The Canadian schools that I know of do guarantee funding for international students that is equivalent to what domestic students receive. However, because international tuition fees are higher, that means the department has to cobble together money from a few different sources to fund them. That does NOT mean that it's impossible to get funding as an international student; I know quite a few graduate students who did not have any trouble with this. You do NOT have to be coming in with an external award (or be eligible for the majority of Canadian government awards like citizens are). However, if you are worried about it, I've heard that the best strategy is to seek a co-supervision. That way, cost is split between two labs/supervisors, which makes the burden on the department a lot lighter. Best of luck!

@DippinDot, if it's a fully funded Master's, then I think that makes it a lot more appealing. If it's a thesis-based MA program with funding, I would definitely go for it! If there's no thesis, though, I'm inclined to think that you'd be better off working as a lab manager or research assistant for the same amount of time, preferably in a situation where you will be allowed some ownership over a project. If you'd like to chat more about this, feel free to PM me.

With regards to whether Fulbright is a recognizable name in the US, it definitely is. There is certainly prestige surrounding any of the Fulbright awards. I don't think it would necessarily strengthen your application *that* much because it is not relevant to data science, but I think you should go for it anyway. It's a fantastic opportunity for an adventure, and it's not like you're passing up that good of an alternative, since it sounds like you're not very keen on the grad program you got into this round. Don't commit to multiple years of hard work and financial burden (sounds like for an unfunded program??) if you're going to regret the limitations of the program itself.

No, you can't get an external award in two weeks, if that's what you're asking. You can, however, email the program and tell them that you would love to attend, but are worried about supporting yourself financially-- Sometimes, they can help you out and scrounge up some more funding for you! No guarantees with this approach, but it doesn't hurt to try. I think your best bet is to look into loans and consider how much you would have to take out, what the final amount paid back would be after interest, and whether or not you think it's worth it. Note: Google student loans in general for your country, not specific to your program/institution, if you're having trouble finding options. If you decide that the loans are not worth it to you, I would reapply to other programs next year in the hopes of better funding.

I would definitely send personalized emails to each of the POIs you expressed interest in working with, ESPECIALLY if you were in contact with them before/after interviews. That's what I did. It's just good form, and helps to avoid burning bridges. As for the administrative side, I'd send it to the new secretary's email, as you were instructed.

This sounds like a bad situation, and I strongly encourage you to get out and take the other great offer. Yes, this guy is famous; but I'm willing to bet that his interpersonal reputation precedes him, as well. He may make noise about trying to damage your credibility in the field, but if others know of his egoistic and manipulative style, they likely won't give his criticisms much weight. I think it is a much better option for you to escape this abusive advisor relationship and forge a genuine connection with a mentor who will actually care about your needs as a trainee.

The reason is that while PhD programs generally offer full funding (tuition waiver + stipend/assistantship to cover cost of living), Master's programs still make YOU pay tuition. Even though it's only for a couple of years, those expenses can really rack up debt. Moreover, different types of MA programs may or may not really make your application competitive. Some example scenarios of when a MA first would be helpful or not-so-helpful to your application: 1. Your undergrad degree was NOT in psych or a related field. You do a psych MA to acquire a strong foundation of background knowledge and demonstrate that you're up to speed. The MA is helpful. 2. Your undergrad degree was in psych or a related field. You do a coursework-based (non-thesis) MA because you think it will look good on an application. You do not acquire much more meaningful research experience or produce posters and publications. You end up footing the bill for the degree, and it is not very helpful to your application. 3. Your undergrad degree was in psych or a related field. You do a thesis-based MA, and gain experience with (maybe) proposing and designing your own study, and following it through. You most likely get at least one poster presentation out of it. You maybe get a publication out of it. The MA was somewhat helpful, but whether the cost was worth the experience is debatable, because it is possible to get comparable credentials out of a paid research assistantship or lab manager job. This applies to many of the other "will I get in" case studies in this thread: Seriously, quality research experience is king. I got into great PhD programs this cycle straight out of undergrad. At interviews, some profs explicitly told me that the admissions committee generally rejects undergrad applicants immediately, on principle. My extensive research experience made me stand out enough to get me an interview, and from there, I had a real shot to impress in-person. I had quantity (four years of work in four different labs, sometimes two concurrent research positions). More importantly, I also had quality (three programs of original research which I proposed and designed, multiple poster and oral presentations, two first author pubs in process).

In your shoes, I would turn it down and reapply. There's no sense in putting yourself though hell by committing to 5+ years of hard work on topics you aren't passionate about. I think it's worth waiting to choose the right program for your interests and future career goals.

I was very anxious about sending out those decline emails as well. I was in a similar position, where I had established close relationships with the POIs, emailing far in advance, doing Skype calls, and meeting up at a conference. At two schools, the POIs had really gone out of their way to make sure I got the best experience and information at the interview weekend, too. I felt terrible about declining their offers, especially since it was a close call and I feared they would think that I had been leading them on with my prior enthusiasm. Ultimately, it was totally fine, and it felt so much better to resolve those loose ends and end it all on a positive note. I sent emails that expressed how much I appreciated all they'd done for me, how difficult the decision was, and how I wished to continue following their research and see them at conferences in the future. Everyone responded with kind emails. Though they expressed disappointment, they all wished me the best and said that they look forward to staying in touch in the future. *Note: One helpful tip I got from my current mentor was to say where you will be going instead (as they would probably ask anyway), but avoid mentioning specifics of the other program that swayed you. You don't want to indirectly diss the program by extolling the pros of the other program, implying that those things were lacking elsewhere.