alwaysNeuro

Hi all, Happy to meet you all here! It will be my second attempt to apply to phd program this year and given the current pandemic situations, I am extremely anxious. So, it will be nice if you can give me some advice. About me: I am an international student currently pursuing a MS degree in the US. GPA: 3.4 in undergrad, 3.8 in MS GRE: verbal and quant are above 90th percentile, AW is 4.0 Research experience: Worked in a cerebral cardiovascular lab since sophomore and learnt about rodent behavioral, in vitro electrophysiology, animal surgeries, etc. I finished an honored thesis in the same lab and had a second authored pub in a journal (IF ~ 11), a poster presentation, two fellowships.I am working on my MS thesis right now but thanks to the pandemic, things got a little bit delayed. I am lucky to have gained some dry lab experience and learnt about in vivo ephys this time. hopefully I can gather enough data for a complete story before November. LOR: two letters from my supervisors (undergrad and MS), one from a professor I took class with in my MS program. School list: SUNY stony brook, UMass Amherst, Pittsburgh, Penn state, U Kansas, Tulane, Temple, Drexel My biggest drawback is my undergrad GPA. I had a below 3.0 GPA before junior year (depression bc of family tragedies). I only officially worked in two labs though I spent a summer in another lab learning ephys. I know it will be exceedingly competitive this year esp for international applicants. So, I basically will go for school ranged from top 50 -200, but I really like the PIs in Pittsburgh and want to give it a try. Should I add more safety school to my list? Thanks!

thanks for sharing and sorry for the late reply~ did the email mention how many applicants will be interviewed and will there be more invitation in the future? I am going to email them again!!! I think I have gone mad...

Is there anyone heard from Northwestern Neurobiology master's program? They said they began reviewing in March, but I haven't got any updates.

same as many friends above, BU seemed to be my last hope, and I did not receive an invitation~ I was trying to locate some RA or technician jobs but really have no idea where to start. Should I go to websites like Indeed and Glassdoor or simply just email professors of interest? Thanks in advance:)

Has anyone heard from UT southwestern medical center, their application page is currently out of service! I am so nervous, on idea if it is a routine Maintainance or a preparation for status update.

That was really encouraging! I really appreciated your experience. And if you don't mind, could you please share with us how you got your first job in a research lab after graduation?

Not at all~I have so far received a rejection from the University of Michigan officially, and an unofficial rejection of MIT(asked by myself).

Does anyone know which university is going to send out the interview in January? And will domestic applicants and international applicants (outside North America) be notified in different time manners? I currently have no positive news, only a few rejections.

Thanks for sharing the info! Yes, I was talking about the neuro program. I handed in my application pretty late, just a few hours before the deadline, I am not sure if it will delay the review of my profile~ BTW, do you happen to have any knowledge of the developmental biology program in UCD, some of my friends did apply to it and they haven't received any update.

congrats!! I applied to UCD as well and haven't heard from them yet. In fact, I only got a few rejections but no interview. Anxious and desperate, but you gave me some hope~

I think every applicant received the email. Maybe lots of applicants asked for an update so that they sent an email altogether...

Hello mate, we are on the same boat. I haven't heard from any school I applied to, except a request of secondary application from UTSW (which can be nothing). My situation may be worse. I have no pub, two years research exp. Not so competitive GPA or GRE. My TOEFL was just above the requirement. I probably won't feel frustrated if I get all rejected because it is foreseeable. I spent a lot of time reflecting myself lately and am happy to figure out what I truly want. I might go for post-bachelor research, but I do not want to give up upon neuroscience. Happy to chat~ It felt released to divulge

I wonder if the international applicant will receive an interview invitation apart from the domestic~ Because only a few friends around got the interview........

Did any international applicant receive an interview invitation?