neuro_dreamer

I’m not so sure about this. I was under the impression that most admissions committees (for PhD at least, med school is a completely different story) really only care about research experiences and academics. Science outreach/teaching always is a bonus but not necessary, and I dont think much weight is placed on participating in unrelated extracurriculars themselves. Maybe they could help illustrate how you might work as a scientist, (eg athlete-> hardworking) but I don’t think they are necessary for admissions into a top program. Just my (possibly incorrect) take ?

Stay positive! You've cleared the biggest hurdle by getting the interview invite, now just show them how great you are!

Agreed! When looking for grad schools, the focus should be on finding researchers that match your interests. At the end of it all, the research skills & techniques that you learned as a grad student are going to be much more important than where you went to school.

Agreed! When looking for grad schools, the focus should be on finding researchers that match your interests. At the end of it all, the research skills & techniques that you learned as a grad student are going to be much more important than where you went to school.

Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, UT schools, Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Dartmouth, most importantly find a PI that is doing research you like!

Hi all! ❤️ hope everyone is doing well, wishing you all peace of mind. Yesterday I received an interview invitation from Vanderbilt-I had read they had sent out interview invitations before Christmas, so wasn't expecting to be contacted positively from this school. This is just to say, stay hopeful!! Some schools really may be reviewing applications and contacting on a somewhat rolling basis ?
This thread has been really helpful to read as a fellow applicant. I appreciate all of you and am rooting for ya
UCSF (r) UNC Chapel Hill (i) Emory (i) Tulane (i) Vanderbilt (i) UCLA (?) UC Berkeley (?) Columbia (?) Georgetown/NIH (?)

I'm new to gradcafe, sorry for being late to the party.
I am a current CRC at a hospital in NYC and have applied to 5 Neuroscience PhD programs (first time applying): 
Mount Sinai, NYU, Albert Einstein, Weill Cornell, WashU in St. Louis, Columbia
I have interviews at Mount Sinai & Cornell (so excited). Rejected thus far from WUSTL and haven't heard back from the others. I'm thinking NYU & Columbia is out but who knows! lmk if you wanna connect, i'm rather friendly and love talking science
 
 

I was so glad to see your post because the same thing happened to me!  I applied to the Neuroscience PhD Program and was invited to interview to the Biomedical Sciences PhD program at Mount Sinai.  After some neurotic investigation it seems the two programs have the same program coordinator, and since they are the only programs offered I think they may just send a mass email out first, and hopefully the second email with the interviewing PIs will specify neuro?  I would be thrilled to interview for either program but obviously neuroscience is the preference since that's where I applied.

This may be controversial: I don't think that it's worth investing your heart and soul into the Ivies or the UC's. For domestic & international students alike, it's a game of 3D chess to determine who they call to interview. More often than not, it's domestic students with connections and/or legacy. I feel for international students because they are going through rings of fire due to our current administration and the lack of available spots in the Ph.D pipeline throughout the U.S. Going to lesser known and/or top 50 programs, doing a killer job, then kicking ass in your postdoc may be the most secure route for now. I know that this is a path that non-traditional domestic students consider since we're also in a difficult position here when competing against your stereotypical "strong" applicants. Don't lose the faith and keep pushing for your dreams. It's going to happen one way or another. ❤️ 

It was the same app for both, that's why.

The email did include my name, but bulk of it seemed generic. I was also a little thrown off since I applied for the PhD in Neuroscience Program, but in the email they thanked me for my interest in the PhD in Biomedical Sciences Program. 

From the email: "The sessions will take place on two consecutive days on 2/8/2021 - 2/9/2021 or 2/11/2021 - 2/12/2021, depending on the availability of the interviewing faculty."

SINAI INTERVIEWS ARE GOING OUT- I JUST GOT ONE! 

Sinai said they’ll be sending out invites and decision letters next week

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

Happy new year!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2021 and success in our grad school pursuits

I think Princeton might still be sending out interview invites -- the results page shows that they started sending them out last week on December 23, and they've continued to send them over several days. They sent me an invite this past weekend!