NeuroBrain

Hi Neuromantic, how'd you hear that you made it to the UConn PNB program? Did you also have a preliminary interview with them? Really hoping to hear back from them, fingers crossed!

That's a good idea actually! Thank you!

Hi, I'm applying to PhD programs this fall 2020, both Biology and Neuroscience programs. After reading through the forums, I realize now that I may not be a very competitive applicant, so am thinking maybe a MS in Bio or Neuro may be the better option for me and then afterwards applying for a PhD. I didn't end up with a very good GPA, I could write about what happened but also don't want to sound like one of "those kids". Once I graduated, I really, really tried to not let my GPA bring me down, so I took some time off and went straight into research. My stats: School: UC Irvine Major: Cognitive Psychology (mix of biology and psychology) GPA: 2.94 (last year of college managed to improve greatly with a 3.6) Major GPA: 3.6 Research experience: 3 years (1 year in a Public Health lab at UCI, 1 year behavioral neuroscience at UC Berkeley, and 1 year at UCSF neurodegenerative diseases) Publishing: 3rd authorship, but it's Public Health related. LOR: 2 from UCSF, 1 from UCI Other: over 100 hours of hospital volunteering, was a medical scribe for neurology at UCSF as well. I originally intended to go to medical school, but really fell in love with being in a lab setting within neuro, so changed my future plans. I guess my questions are - Do you guys think I have a chance with my above experience and GPA to get into a PhD program? Or am I better off just applying to MS programs? Do I even have a chance to get into a MS program? I keep hearing that Neuroscience PhD programs are super impacted with everyone applying to them and requirements being so difficult. With that said, is it best to apply to Biology PhD programs then? Within most Biology programs, it seems as though I still would be able to study under the professors I want. Should I dedicate a paragraph explaining my low GPA dip? Thinking of applying abroad to schools like University of London and University of Edinburgh (both Masters) to help boost my chances of getting in. I heard they are easier to get into if you are coming from the US. If anyone has experience with either - is that true?