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Cophysneurec

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  • Location
    California
  • Application Season
    2021 Fall
  • Program
    Applied Math PhD or Neuroscience PhD

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  1. Title. It might be helpful to me and others if people with insider info shared a rough ratio of this years applicants to previous years. Personally I am trying to decide how much energy to put into planning profile-enhancing activities in 2022 should I get rejected everywhere. My field is math/applied math (PhD), but I think hearing about biostatistics or other quantitative programs would still be helpful.
  2. Economics PhD? Admissions committees care much more about mathematical preparation than the economics, though you would probably need to take intermediate micro and macro if you haven't already. Theory is competitive but highly mathematical and draws on areas such as analysis, topology, graph theory, algebraic topology and even gauge theory.
  3. Hello, I am coming from a math background with experience in clinical neuroscience research (human EEG) and behavioral psychology. From what I understand, many PhD students specializing in mathematical methods for neuroscience are not required to actually work with animals directly, perform transections, etc... I imagine this depends on the supervisor and their lab. Is there any way of identifying programs where students on the math side are usually not expected to do lab work? Is this wishful thinking on my part, and should I expect to have to get my hands dirty at some point if I aim for a PhD in Neuroscience? If you have any insight into that aspect of any of these programs, I would be especially grateful: CMU PNC Duke UC Irvine UCSB U Washington Caltech CNS UCSD Princeton Cornell U Arizona Brown Thank you.
  4. What I've discovered is that if you want good application advice you need to get really specific. Nobody has the time to vomit all their knowledge at you, so you have to ask specific questions about specific programs or particular aspects of your profile. Do your own research and then ask for input on the details you couldn't work out yourself. -fellow applicant
  5. About how competitive is the Caltech Computation and Neural Systems PhD program? It ranks with UC Davis in the US News rankings, is it similarly competitive, or is it more elite than the ranking suggests?
  6. This will help me get past my block. Thank you.
  7. I will follow your advice, this is really reassuring. Thank you. Fortunately I do have good research experience and close relationships with a few of my letter writers.
  8. I will be applying to comp neuro PhD programs this fall. My academic performance in undergrad was strongly affected by untreated and undiagnosed ADHD and resulting anxiety. It was so bad that I earned a 2.96 gpa in my first two years, and after seeking treatment I earned a 3.64 gpa in my last two years of undergrad. I have gone on to do the equivalent of a postbacc, with much more rigorous courses than I took in undergrad, and I've earned 3.9+ gpa. Unfortunately I took the entire calculus sequence and ochem during those first two years (C's and B's), and was told by a professor at a program I plan on applying to that I will need to explain the circumstances leading to my poor early grades. I am worried that the stigma around ADHD may do more harm than good if I am honest in my SOP. Should I actually mention ADHD at all? Should I say I had anxiety due to life circumstances or something instead? Would ADHD actually be a diversity bonus, and help my profile??
  9. I will be applying to mathematics PhD programs this fall. My academic performance in undergrad was strongly affected by untreated and undiagnosed ADHD and resulting anxiety. It was so bad that I earned a 2.96 gpa in my first two years, and after seeking treatment I earned a 3.64 gpa in my last two years of undergrad. I have gone on to do the equivalent of a postbacc, with much more rigorous courses than I took in undergrad, and I've earned 3.9+ gpa. As I continue to catch up developmentally with my peers who had a lifetime to build study habits, rather than a measly few years, the ease with which I earn high marks is rapidly increasing. Unfortunately I took the entire calculus sequence during those first two years (C's and B's), and was told by a professor at a program I plan on applying to that I will need to explain the circumstances leading to my poor early grades. I am worried that the stigma around ADHD may do more harm than good if I am honest in my SOP. Should I actually mention ADHD at all? Should I say I had anxiety due to life circumstances or something instead? Would ADHD actually be a diversity bonus, and help my profile??
  10. Wow, you weren't kidding! I really appreciate your input, so thank you. How did you go about contacting/networking with PI's when you were applying?
  11. Hello, I am interested in Neuroscience programs, particularly computational ones such as UCSB DYNS. Please let me know what schools would be in a reasonable range for me! My undergrad started off very poorly but I have been turning things around. Type of Student: White Male Undergrad Institution: Top 3 UC. Major: Economics GPA: 3.4 Overall, 3.77 after Sophomore year (including Post-bacc) Key Courses by Year: 1st-- Calc 1 (B-), Calc 2 (B), Calc 3 (C), PChem1/2 (C+/B), Cells&Tissues (C-) 2nd-- Calc 4 (C-), OChem1 (C) 3rd-- OChem2 (B) 4th-- Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (A-), Stem Cell Biology (A-), Cell&Molecular Bio (A), Genes&Evo&Ecology (A) Post-bacc: Math-- Real Analysis (A), Graduate Topology 1 (A), Graduate Real Analysis 1/2 (A/A+), Extremal Combinatorics and Graph Theory (A+), Proof Based Linear Algebra (A), Abstract Algebra 1/2 (A/A) Other-- Electricity and Magnetism (A), Systems and Signals (A), Introduction to Control Systems (A), Neuroanatomy and Physiology (A), Neural Mechanisms Controlling Movement (A) Programming: Used Python professionally and in neuro research + numerous Coursera certifications. Used Matlab for engineering courses (Systems and Signals, Intro to Control Systems). GRE Q/V/W: 168/164/4.5 Programs Applying: Neuro/Computational Neuro Research Experience: 14 months neuroscience research (EEG data analysis) with solid writing sample to show for it, extensive programming, data analysis and literature reviews. 12 months grant apps and research in behavioral psychology and neuroscience with professor at high-ranking program with 2 coauthors on behavioral psychology papers. Work Experience: Close to 1 year work experience as Analyst where I did ARMA forecasting, market research and data automation for a startup. Letters of Recommendation: Professor of Graduate Real Analysis 1/2. Class of 7 students and I was at the top every quiz/test. Participated actively in class and prof got to know me fairly well, and saw me interact extensively with peers. Psychology Professor with whom I did 12 months research. Know each other personally, and spoke on zoom for 1 hour every weekday as he was paying me to help with research. Head of neuroscience lab, lecturer and MD at undergrad program. I know for a fact that this letter is very strong. Research interests: Networks and complex dynamics, conscious access, brain-machine interfaces, brain disorders (e.g. Parkinson's) School List: JHU Columbia (Neurobiology and Behavior) UCSD (Neuro -> Computational Neuroscience) UCB University of Washington University of Pittsburgh (Neuro -> Computational Neuroscience) USC UCSB (DYNS) I am still working on finishing up the post-bacc, so some grades above are hypothetical, although things are looking great so far. I plan on applying to programs this year.
  12. I wasn’t describing equity programs as a burden, I was referring to the effects that these institutionalized changes have on those who must enact them on a daily basis. Just as there is no free lunch, every policy has its downsides, whether in opportunity cost or in direct consequences of the policy. I don’t appreciate the implication in your last point that I somehow don’t feel everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams. I think this is the single most important facet of society. My thought is that homogeneity of any kind is not inherently valuable. Seeking homogeneity in the distribution of people who do a given thing is idiotic without basis for value. You don’t need to lecture me on the value of X Y Z in stem; what I am asking is: in what way does the undergraduate educational system or surrounding structure inhibit those who would naturally want to enter STEM from doing so? I feel that from my own experiences, these effects are very limited when it comes to women. I am asking for other perspectives so I can broaden my understanding.
  13. This sounds like a great idea. Economics programs hold a ‘math camp’ during the summer before the first year, and I have heard it can be invaluable. I have another thought on this issue, and I want to preface it by saying that creating opportunities for disadvantaged individuals to pursue higher education, elite careers, or what have you, is extremely important and valuable for everybody over the long term. My thought is basically just this: how much of this burden should fall on universities and their faculty? It seems like preferential admission of disadvantaged people can be a source of hope of opportunity and possibility for the younger generations (particularly helping those who would feel forsaken by birth or by consequence of some event), and those who succeed in the system can later become role models who guide those facing similar difficulties. I wonder though if creating disruptions at the frontier of research is really the best way to do things. My feeling has been for some time that we need to ramp up free, quality education at the k-12 level with free clubs and activities for all students, better systems to identify gifted students, free daycare programs so that teenagers are not expected to care for younger siblings, free associate degrees and perhaps more. I understand that women tend to face difficulties with differences of communication styles when in majority male environments. Maybe I am blind, but I have not noticed any discrimination towards women in math or science among my peers. It seems to me there is a certain stigma around becoming an engineer or mathematician that evokes a very nerdy numbers obsessed and un-feminine stereotype. But is this stereotype just a function of the subject matter? Is it pernicious in some way? I feel that these career paths also tend to turn off the most masculine men who would not mesh with this stereotype either. I keep hearing about data in Norway showing greater behavioral divides between the genders resulting from greater gender equality, and I really wonder if women face exogenous (others discriminating against them) difficulties with higher math/engineering, or if many women happen to have personalities that don’t always mesh so well with the lifestyle of a math geek or engineering nerd. Sorry for rambling, I’m not trying to impose my view on anyone, but I’m hoping for your thoughts and feedback as my perspective is of course limited. I would just like to add that I think there’s a good chance that women tend to be slightly more gifted in stem areas (based on higher overall college and especially k12 achievement). And I think it would be wonderful for the scientific community of there were more women involved. But even with that, the proportion of women in the medical fields is very high as far as I know. To the poster above, please consider the validity of that test. Aside from that, interventions based on such a test have been shown to have net zero or net negative effects. It seems like bunk science to me. Maybe a better measure is needed. http://www.hcdi.net/reliability-and-validity-of-implicit-association-test/
  14. So you're proposing "a college entrance exam (kind of how its done in some foreign countries)" (point 1). And then you said "Nowhere did I suggest people should be evaluated on such exams," referring to timed, closed problems, on strict standards. So logically, your entrance exams would be untimed, or consist of open problems, or not be standardized. And these exams would be like those in some foreign countries, so supposedly there are countries that operate like this (not just at one program, but some country's programs operate like this). What countries do this? Then presumably students would have to take standardized qualifying exams (point 2), because if they are not standardized across programs your (point 3) is entirely nonsensical. So these routine qualifying exams would be untimed, or consist of open problems (based on your own response, since they would be standardized). If your audits do nothing, no program would comply. So you would need to punish them for poor performance by your metrics. How? Funding? How is funding determined when all programs are expected to perform above the same threshold? Do government grants then take into account the compliance rating of a given program? Ok, but this doesn't work. The tests are untimed, remember? So the program can simply instruct students on the exam material during the exam... Or if not, the exams consist of open problems, which makes no sense (timed exams where students are expected to solve open problems in order to stay in the program??). How do you even construct fair exams containing open problems that are standardized by field and timed?? And schools would be audited for low graduation rates by some overarching body (point 3) so you are advocating for centralized control of the graduate educational system. So many issues with this. Who decides what areas of research in a given field are worth evaluating? These questions are hard enough at the K-12 level. How do you evaluate students on "grant writing" in a standardized way across institutions? If you do not standardize this process, what incentivizes programs to invite audits upon themselves due to low graduation rates? What is comparative advantage? Exam is a very misleading term as you are using it. Perhaps evaluation would be more appropriate? rec letters: based on ability to get along well with superiors and peers, grades, testing, research experience. GPA: based on aptitude, consistency of work ethic, testing, and whatever else. Of the three you listed, two reveal much more about an individual than how they perform on tests. My logic never indicated that testing should not be considered in the evaluation of an applicant or progress assessment of a graduate student. I simply pointed out that test scores alone can fail to capture many important facts regarding someone's research potential. So far you write like a flopping fish, this way and that, with no clear direction, although any which way you flop you are confined to a space with no practical arguments as Mao Zedong smiles upon you.
  15. So you believe that test-taking ability is the only important indicator of research potential? Did you know that many people with learning disabilities, adhd, or anxiety disorders tend to systematically underperform on tests, regardless of their intelligence, creativity (actually more creative individuals may very well perform worse in a testing environment, all else equal) or research potential? It seems you’ve only thought about yourself in writing this, which is uncharacteristic of a good researcher.
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