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I got my MIT accpetance email this morning from POIs! Official email to come soon, best of luck to the other applicants!

Not yet.. I emailed the PIs I talked to and one replied saying they hoped to get offers out by (last) wednesday.. so a little annoying they're waiting so long since they were one of the last interviews

I think most schools offer this, but word it differently. Berkeley says "This offer includes full guaranteed support for the entire duration of the program for all students in good academic standing" which im assuming means the same thing? Good question- definitely something I'd ask for clarification about from your other offers.

Does anyone know when Berkeley will be sending out their official acceptances? I was told they would come out soon after the informal ones but Im too impatient lol

Hi! So I only have two interviews (Berkeley and MIT) and I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome my Berkeley visit was and how much information they gave us about student life, housing, overall program atmosphere which was super helpful! I got accepted so I'm pretty excited and it makes me less nervous for my MIT interview coming up. I think the actual visit put my preferences into perspective and gave me a lot of information I didn't think to ask about so now I know what I'm looking for going into MIT!

i got an email to check my decision in the portal a couple weeks ago (rejected lol) so maybe there is still hope for you! I'd also recommend checking the portal too just in case

When I was looking for a technician job I used university websites and because I needed a job quick, I emailed the PIs directly with my CV explaining why I was interested to work in their labs and I ended up finding a good position within weeks. It's definitely hard to find positions but not impossible you just have to put yourself out there!

Feeeel that! I work here currently and apparently the head of their pharmacy program or something left the position right before interview season so I heard that the coordinator for GPN has to also plan their recruitment as well which is probably why it's taking so long

Wow thank you for breaking that down! That is more along the lines of what I've been hearing from my mentors about the process but it's good to know there's a spectrum of how difficult it could be. Best of luck to you!

Yeah that's a good idea, I have a mock interview planned with my current lab tomorrow and one on Friday with an old mentor so hopefully that helps calm my nerves. Yikes that sounds honestly terrifying and I hope that's not the case for all institutions but I will definitely prepare for the worst. Thanks again!

Ah that sounds pretty stressful! But thank you for the helpful insight! Hopefully, my diverse experience will set me apart but I will definitely try and be concise in what I'm saying and not leave much to interpretation. I don't have the most confidence when talking about neuroscience (my weakness is public speaking) so I am focusing on formulating good, intellectual answers. Thanks again and best of luck to you!

To those who have already had interviews- what was your overall experience talking with faculty? did you find it to be an intimidating interrogation or more of a candid conversation? I am in the process of preparing some answers to obvious questions they may ask but I don't want to sound too scripted but I also don't want to sound unprepared. If anyone has any insight on this I would appreciate it! I'm super nervous lol

Hey! I have my first interview coming up soon and I just went and got some clothes to wear. I wear leggings and hoodies on a regular basis so business casual is not my forte. Berkeley specified in their email "As a rule, clothing is casual on campus, and you are encouraged to wear anything you are comfortable with while meeting graduate students and faculty." so I got a nice pair of slacks and some nice wool sweaters and blouses. Im wondering if it is common to wear blazers as well? I got one in case but I don't want to overdress. Anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

Harvard, MIT and Stanford are up there for sure but UCSD, UCSF, and Johns Hopkins are very competitive as well (among MANY others I'm sure). I've asked a few of my mentors the ranks of schools but ended up just googling it. Here's an example but each website uses different criteria so it mostly based on what your interests are/fit and future goals... I wouldn't avoid applying to top schools because they are competitive, but apply to schools that actually align with your interests and experience and you'd be surprised. For example, my GPA isnt competitive but I received interviews from two top schools (although I got rejected everywhere else lol) but still! you never know! Hope that was helpful https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/neuroscience-behavior

I heard 25-27 through this thread but I would def trust their website over that haha sorry for the confusion!

I think they send out invites towards the end of January and I heard through this forum that the dates for interview are Feb 25-27

I don’t have much experience to answer your second question but it’s common to send thank you emails following interviews and not weird! I think they would appreciate it and would leave a good impression. Hope the interview went welll!

Has anyone heard back from UCLA or Scripps today/yesterday? I saw a few people on the results page and wondering if/ hoping they may be sending out more

There wasn't a concrete deadline- the email said to email them directly as soon as possible to let them know attendance and then said to RSVP to the eventbrite event for it by the 22nd of Feb and interviews are march 7-9

i received mine 12/14 and the deadline to commit was on the 1st, so I would assume they are done but it wouldn't hurt to call/email!

Got it thanks for clarifying!

Hi I see that you got "rejected" from UCLA? I was under the impression they were sending out another round of invites ? did you get an official letter or just no interview?

Between the neuroscience labs I've worked in, I only know one graduate student who went to grad school directly from undergrad and he's in his 6th year now so that was a very long time ago... from my understanding it's actually recommended to take one or two years in between to get experience and really grow as a scientist. I only took one gap year but that's because I went to a school that offered 6 month full-time internships alternating with class semesters. Even with this experience, I was still encouraged to take two gap years (I didn't listen) but honestly it probably would still have put me in a better position. So I think there is no shame in taking gap years, as long as you're working to strengthen your application and figuring out if it's something you actually want to commit the next 5-6 years of your life to. From what I've heard, schools are looking for students who are pretty much already functioning at the level of graduate students and that have the potential to jump right in to the science. From personal experience, after my experiences in undergrad I thought I wanted to study solely cell & molecular biology but now I work in a systems neuro lab and my interests have completely shifted. Overall, don't lose hope and don't be discouraged if you need to take a gap year- if that ends up being the case you will be happy you did and you may have better insight into what you actually want to do... Im not trying to preach but just some perspective Hope thats helpful!

Stanford sent an email after their deadline that they will send invites the week of Jan 7. And I totally agree about rejections! Lol

This is the advice I've heard from most PI's / grad students so I was planning on doing the same, thanks for clarifying!