dopamine_machine

Is anyone planning to visit the PhD programs they got into? I live on the West Coast but only got into programs on the East Coast and am conflicted on whether it's worth it to take a trip to the programs that offered me admission since I have never been to those places before (I am vaccinated).

Hi all! Congratulations to those who deciding to have a new campus life in NYC! I graduated from Columbia last year. Hope to help newbies know better about the campus and New York life. 
Welcome to ask any questions. I would be happy to help! feel free to contact: youngeve2 
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Hi! I'm in the Cog Sci in Education PHD program at Columbia Teachers College this fall. Nice to meet you!

Not sure if this is consolation but you had a solid shot and got an interview at a top program as an international student in the toughest application cycle since the Great Recession. I've seen that UCSD in particular (because they are a state school) will only take 0-2 international students per cohort. You're probably one of less than 1% of international students that were taken to interview! Every candidate is great so I don't think these professors were lying to you but maybe you weren't as good a fit as another student and that's fine; it's not a referendum on your abilities. Take this as an opportunity to learn to work through a rejection because neuroscience is all about rejections whether that's getting into grad school, getting a paper accepted, getting the NRSA, getting a postdoc, getting a K99/R00, getting a faculty position, getting a foundation grant, getting an R01, getting tenure etc etc. 
I've helped some of my international friends and they have to be twice as good as U.S. citizens and that's not fair to them; I wish it were different (I am a U.S. citizen). However, I will say that by having to work twice as hard, international students end up being twice as good. They end up being the stars of their cohort and star neuroscientists generally speaking. Why do you think international students are only around 10% of PhD students in neuro but end up being maybe 20% of faculty? You might fret not being at a place like UCSD but it's not the school that matters, it's how productive you are and the quality of your research. No matter where you land, if you do good work, you'll be able to postdoc in whatever big name lab you want. At that stage, the advantages of being international vs. citizen disappear because funding opportunities at that level are open to all. The F99/R00 and R01 only require a visa! You'll be that much better at that stage than American citizens because you've had to learn how to work harder and face tough rejections. 

It did not seem personalized. They don't seem to be sending them out all at once though! A friend of mine received an acceptance yesterday in the evening and I received mine this morning. Ah good luck!!! 

Stanford Neurosciences acceptances started coming out! 

Officially accepted to UCSD! This year has been very tough. Applied to almost 18 schools and ALL but 3 were rejections. However, where there is a will... there is a way.
I am an international student so this process was that much more of a whirlwind. I am glad that I can finally breathe and this forum has been very helpful. Good luck to us all and if anyone will be committing to UCSD as well, message me!

Finally got my rejection from Columbia yesterday. Not surprised but still a little disappointed. At least that makes my choice easy. I'm going to UCSF!

I haven't decided yet! Still debating between a few schools...

Omg me too!!!! I will be committing within the next few days!!!

Just got an acceptance to USC NGP through email with the official offer letter! this is my top choice so excited

To add to this, make sure to tell schools you will not be attending. It's super exciting to accept and you'll feel really motivated to do it but make sure to be motivated to let the other schools know your decision so the process can move along for others.

I heard back from MD Anderson 6 days after my interview (and that included a weekend and a holiday, so 3 business days) and they said expect results in 2 weeks. Dartmouth and A&M both said "about 2 weeks" and I heard back like a month later. 2 weeks can mean a couple days or a month lol. Choosing people and then securing funding takes a lot of time on the school's part, so don't fret! No news is still good news imo ? 

I completely understand and haven't committed yet myself! Only commit when you are 100% sure, whether that is right now, or weeks from now, or even on April 15th if it comes to that!

Thanks, wish you the best of luck!
 

At least we don't have any results from the tracks we applied to yet, and from people on this forum it seems like a LOT of interviewees haven't heard back yet? I'm getting pretty anxious too since I expected to hear back last week at the latest ? 

I similarly don't feel good about it. It's just very unclear what's going on...

I don’t know why I assumed that, but I did, haha. Hopefully I’m wrong. 

I'm trying to be optimistic, but feel similarly.  At least the person who wrote that did not specify whether a PI or a co-director sent the email (maybe a PI that really wants them wanted to let them know personally).

Nope. I know someone who accepted the offer immediately when they got the call from the program director.

Thank you! I will be hearing back from the last program this week so it doesn’t hurt to wait I guess haha. It’s hard to phrase emails to prospective mentors that have reached out from the school I want to attend though. 

I personally am waiting to hear from all of my programs before making a decision, but if you are 100% confident in this program, I say go ahead! All of your programs will appreciate it since you are securing a spot at the program you like the best and will go to and also be telling other programs that you will not be taking one of their spots (makes it easier to roll people off of waitlists prior to the April 15th deadline).

I have a general question. Is it weird to accept an offer right away (two days post-acceptance) if you know you want to join the program? I’ve basically made my decision, but technically I’m waiting on one more admissions decision since I just had my interview last week. 

Yeah Same. Sinai is exactly what I'm looking for in a grad school. They only exist to improve patient care and that's why I got into science. The only other school I got accepted to seems to focus completely on training career scientists that get paid a lot. This is my second year applying. I'm considering just going with the other school but if Sinai is something you want, you might want to hold out and try again next year. 

Just got an offer from Sinai!