Arcadian

Good question. I was wondering the same thing.

I just got my first smart phone as well, the Samsung epic 4G. So far it has proven to be extremely useful.

I'm not...I'm enjoying a very chill summer before grad school. But I'm still reading a text book and research articles relevant to my field.

"The next time someone asks you for an honest critique...don't rip out their gizzards and hold them in front of their face. What you did was very spiteful, but it was also very brave and very honest and I respect you for doing that. But the content of what you said has made me hate you. So there's a layer of respect, admittedly, for your truthfulness, but it's peppered with hate. Hateful respect." -Aldous Snow (I was going to post a video of this but couldn't find one, LOL.)

So basically, there are two perspectives on this. On one hand, you might be limiting yourself by specifying the details of your career path as a high school student. On the other hand, you might be better prepared for graduate school than anyone I've ever heard of. Obviously, since you're considering my field of choice, I will encourage it. Cog neuro is a fascinating and growing field. There are no downsides except the need for 4-6 years of grad school. However, one can't help but wonder if you will discover other, equally fascinating fields during your college experience that are better suited for you. For example, when I started college, I wanted to become a nanophysicist. Nanophysics is also a fascinating and growing field, but it turned out I was less than stellar at physics and calculus, but I performed exceptionally well in psychology and statistics. Not only that, but my interest shifted toward an interest in the brain-mind interaction and research involving human subjects at the biobehaviorial level of analysis. So you need to give your interests time to develop as well. My advice is to take a wide variety of classes in your first year (or two) of college, and even to wait before declaring your major. This will allow you to experiment with courses from different departments (while taking a handful of core requirements) before you commit to any particular field, but you will still have plenty of time to focus on your concentration for the remaining 2-3 years.

You can't really do anything about it. Just be yourself. If you're cool, people will catch your good vibes. If not, it's clearly not your fault, so just let them suffer. It is all too common for those who are suffering to project their negativity onto others.

I don't know, but there's got to be something for you. It seems that behavioral neuro is all about pharmacology these days, while cog neuro is all about imaging.

(Looks at topic title) But...grad school is work. So in that sense, yes, but if you mean extra work outside of grad school...fuck no!

My program pays its students bi-monthly.

1. Vacation with girlfriend 2. Spend time with friends 3. Read 4. Think about possible projects for grad school 5. Look at apartments 6. Sell a bunch of crap

I got an email within a week with a list of things to do before August. I've registered for classes, and I have personally spoken with my advisers, but I haven't signed any papers yet. They just told me to be on campus the week before the semester begins to sign employment papers and attend TA/RA orientation.

12.5% acceptance 87.5% rejection

What is your definition of a "close friend"? It must be radically different from mine. My definition of a close friend is someone who I can call, and they will answer at least 75% of the time - and someone who I can invite to hang out at my place, talk about anything, and laugh about anything together. More importantly, a "close friend" is someone who wouldn't be a dick on a consistent basis. I'm not saying that's what your adviser is doing, but it kinda sounds like it. Also, a close friend would understand that you don't like working with him. He would accept that, and continue to be your friend. It certainly wouldn't wreck a true friendship.

What class was it? If it was in your major field, then I guess you should explain the situation. If it was in an unrelated field, it shouldn't matter because it was your freshman year. Shit happens.

Physics and calculus are not much more relevant to psychology/neuroscience than a random humanities class. I got Cs and Ds in advanced calculus and engineering physics, but I don't think that should matter much. What's important, as you said, is statistics and research design. I think you should be optimistic. Your background sounds pretty good. I also don't have any publications as an undergrad. It's not required. The one thing you might want to consider is broadening your list of schools to which you will apply.

Yeah, but he or she can also try to get into a PhD program that is a good fit. As I explained, my GPA was almost exactly the same as his/hers, and I got into a program because it was a great fit (and probably received fewer applications than other programs, just to be honest). He/she shouldn't be discouraged from applying to PhD programs. The key is to establish clear research goals, and search for programs that fit those goals and that will give you a chance. I will say that you should apply to some MS programs as backups. Besides, it's not like a 3.1-3.2 is terrible. That's still a solid B (over all coursework). I bet the major GPA and last-60 GPA are significantly higher. Honestly, programs shouldn't even take the freshman year into consideration...there are way too many variables in the transition from high school to college that screw up many of us. (E.g., Who cares if I got a C in Texas Government?)

Your background is (at a surface level) similar to mine, so if you want to see roughly what the outcome of these applications might be, look at my results. Having a less-than-stellar overall GPA makes it hard for us to get into the most competitive schools, but if you did research with (or if you can get a letter from) a well-known professor in the field, that helps immensely. The main thing is to decide precisely what area(s) of research you want to specialize in. It can be hard when everything in neuroscience is so interesting, but you'll need to write a "statement of purpose" in which you make it clear what your research goals are. Keep us updated on your decision-making process!

Experimental psychology (aka "research methods") is the most important course to have on your transcript for graduate admissions. If you can't take it in the fall, then definitely take it during the summer.

The funny thing is that I took a course in Matlab programming during my freshman year when I was an engineering major. It was required for the engineering degree. I hated the class, and when I changed my major, I thought I'd never have to see it again. Now I find myself in cognitive neuroscience and...yeah. Haha. Even though I'm not very good at programming, at least I've taken a course in it. I still have the basic software, so perhaps I'll do a little practicing with it over the summer.

I'm 22 and turn 23 in October. Straight out of undergrad...amazingly.

YES, I also have become a terrible student since being accepted into grad school. Admittedly, my responsibilities this semester are quite minimal. I'm not even doing a thesis like many of you are. My undergrad research duties are ridiculously easy, as is my job. I will probably get all As (perhaps one despite my poor study habits lately. I'm taking three classes in my major, which I like a lot, and one in my minor which I hate. But I'm just ready to move onto to bigger things now. It's hard to care about these petty undergraduate tasks when I know I'm moving on to bigger, better things.

I don't think the GRE is important, relatively speaking. It's just a standardized test. I would guess that admissions committees don't have much respect for standardized tests (as no informed person should). It's a mere formality of the system. Just get respectable scores, and turn your focus to other things.

Yeah, just keep being optimistic. I can tell you are, so keep it up. Perhaps next year, apply to more than three programs. I applied to 8 and was rejected by 7/8. If I hadn't applied to that last school, I'd be depressed right now.

Owlie was right. It just means your GPA from previous schools doesn't count toward your graduation GPA at the new school. This is why I am able to graduate summa cum laude despite failing my freshman year; the "new" GPA is 4.0 and the "old" GPA was 2.4.

My freshman year GPA was 1.8. I failed a class, received multiple Cs and Ds, and I was on academic probation for one semester. My sophomore year was a recovery year; I took core requiremenes and got decent grades. In my junior and senior years, I have a 4.0 GPA and have since been accepted into a PhD program (and several honor societies). I believe this illustrates the importance of the last two years relative to the freshman year. Note: My freshman year was ruined by a misguided choice of major and coursework. I didn't begin with psychology until my third year. I also transferred to a different school to "refresh" my GPA. If I can do it, you can do it.