4sdch

Reviewer 1: "The technical approach is systematic, well-resourced, and likely to succeed in [its objectives]. Letters are strong, citing independence, initiative, and consistent engagement in scientific discussion during lab meeting. The transcripts are puzzling, with several low grades in relevant coursework. Many brilliant scientists do not achieve high marks in traditional coursework, but the application should provide some contextual information [for these low grades]."
Reviewer 2: "Though, low GPA during undergrad is a concern, the applicant provides a highly original self-developed research proposal. The proposed studies are highly challenging but have a great potential in [advancing knowledge of the field]. Previous research experiences of the applicant in both wet lab settings and bioinformatics perfectly suit the applicant's current proposal. The applicant also is well supported by strong supporting letters... Overall the applicant demonstrated outstanding research performance and provides a high quality research proposal."
Rejected. Not even an honorable mention.
Glad to know that academia cares more about grades than the proposal, whilst simultaneously and explicitly acknowledging that grades are not reliable indicators of research ability or potential. And with that, I am officially giving up on neuroscience and the PhD pursuit. Academia wouldn't even give me one single interview in my third cycle applying, yet somehow I'm good enough to bag a $85K/yr entry-level job in industry working with Feng Zhang. Re-read that last sentence and think about how messed up the academic processes must be for that to occur.
(For the context of those outside of biology, though Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize in 2020 for the discovery of the gene-editing molecule CRISPR Cas9 [recall headlines about designer babies], Feng Zhang was independently working on it at the same time and was the first to engineer and prove its efficacy in mammalian cells. Many believe that he should have shared the Nobel Prize. That's who I'll be working with.)
TLDR: I'm done waiting for academia to recognize me. I'm moving on.
Best of luck to everyone else in your ongoing PhD pursuits! Keep your head up, take care of your mental health, and don't forget that there's always great opportunities out there - even if you can't immediately see them.

I chose Harvard PiN! I'm excited and scared but mostly excited. I want to focus on celebrating the decision before planning some logistics to move and whatnot you know?

Which school did you choose?

I definitely visited my top three choices. It helped with my decision, because I also haven't ever lived in the east coast, and had  never visited a place. It also gave me a chance to meet with some students or professors that I connected with during the virtual interview. I was not allowed to go into the campus buildings, but at least I got the chance to see it from the outside, and walk around the neighborhoods/campus area I would live in. If you can make the time, I think it was worth it for me. 

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).

Thank you!! I was sent an email and then I received a phone call from one of the PIs who I interviewed with.

Stanford Neurosciences acceptances started coming out! 

for anyone choosing between programs: how did you make your decision?
everyone says your advisor is key but I don't know who my advisor would be for either program, or what exactly I'd be working on.

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...

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

4sdch,you have received offers from all these top universities. Where do you want to go?
Just asking, don't get me wrong (If I had an offer from Harvard,I would not think much about my decision). LOL

It looks like they are doing it today...and I haven't received their call...

It definitely depends on the program, but a lot of them send results a week or two after the interview weekend ended.  Some wait until after all of the weekends have ended though before making decisions.

I got accepted to both UCSF and University of Washington! It feels like such an immense privilege to have two amazing schools to pick from. After getting rejected without interviews from every program last year (for MD/PhD, but still), I was feeling really down about myself and my chances of ever being accepted anywhere. I decided to cancel my last interview and now I'm just waiting to hear back from Columbia. 

Have NYU neuroscience decisions been sent out? I saw that one person posted an acceptance on Feb 20. 

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

One of my interviewer, we talked extensively about his research
 

Program in Neuroscience

Just got an offer from Harvard!!! So excited!!! Would love to help in turns of tips about interviews!!

The standard decision date is April 15 (I’m pretty sure this applies to all PhD programs, but could be wrong), so you have plenty of time! Def don’t feel pressured to respond right away with anything other than acknowledgment/appreciation for the offer if you need time to think about it. But if you know you won’t go to a school you’ve gotten an acceptance to, it’s nice to let them know ASAP so they can offer your spot to someone else

Hi - I've been on two so far. Around 60% of the time, the school will be trying to recruit you by showing presentations about the school, giving faculty talks, hosting socials and conversations with current graduate students.
You'll like have 5ish actual interviews which are 30-45 minutes long. Honestly, they can really range in format. Some faculty will ask for a 3-5 minute recap of your research, some will ask you to describe one of your projects in depth (usually of your choosing). Sometimes, professors will ask tons of questions, not necessarily as a "gotcha," but mostly just to see how you're thinking about your research. Then your interviewer will likely talk about their research (which they love to do, so show enthusiasm!) and offer to answer any questions you have about the program or anything.
Mine have really ranged; I've talked for 20 minutes straight at some and at others we only talked about why we love to do research and what I hope to do in grad school. So, be prepared to talk about your research, but don't be surprised if you don't at all! Hopefully, your faculty are very friendly and interviews will feel like a fun conversation about science.
To be honest, it's kind of difficult to feel out the vibe of the school virtually so I'm really paying attention to subtleties in how the current students talk about their experiences. Hopefully, you're meeting with faculty who have labs you'd be interested in joining, because this is a great time to feel out if you would enjoy their lab. You should choose a grad school that has options for you, so if you find out you're not really vibin with some faculty that were once interested in, take note. 
Finally, if there's anyone you didn't get to talk to during the actual interview dates, the program will absolutely coordinate a meeting for you. 
Feel free to reach out to me if you wanna talk about anything more specific, I'm happy to do so.

After 2/3 interviews I received my first admissions offer today! Huge sigh of relief knowing I will be able to go into a PhD program this fall, I was worried about coming straight form undergraduate. Ah! Exciting day!
 
Good luck to you all!

I signed up for the SNAAP program that was also advertised on this forum. I met with a PhD grad student that gave me some tips on what things I could work on. One thing she suggested is important to have is to have a good 20-30 second elevator pitch that you can use to explain a little of your background (where you graduated from, majors, RESEARCH). She said to practice outloud, which will allow you to be comfortable talking about your research. I'm also meeting with another PhD student for her advice and will ask the PI that I work for to meet also to discuss. If you don't have neuroscience research per se that is fine, just shift the focus on something else but that shows that you have initiative and also what brought your passion to learn about neuroscience (taking a class, going to a summer internship, etc).
I will also try to do at least one mock interview.