starstuff

@kpoh85: UMD-Baltimore did not email the rejection, but I happened to check the application website on a whim. As of Friday, the decision section had been updated to "Rejected". I also received a formal letter in the mail over the weekend. I know that they had the first interview weekend this past weekend, but others are scheduled as well.. hopefully you'll get an invite soon to one of those! Thanks for the info on UMD-CP.. I guess I'll hold onto hope for a little longer.

Has anyone here (or anyone you know) heard from UMaryland-CP Neuroscience or Georgetown* Neuroscience yet? I noticed a Georgetown-NIH program interview in the Results Survey, but nothing yet for anyone applying simply to Georgetown's program. (I know my chances are slim, but it'd be great to find out something.) Thanks!

@ Scalia: I say yes, it's perfectly acceptable to email the admissions coordinator. That's part of what they are there for; to coordinate things like this. With the potential scheduling conflict, you have a very legitimate reason to inquire about application status. I emailed the admissions coordinators at all of my schools a week or two ago, and was able to find out about a few decisions that had already been made, that I otherwise wouldn't have known about until much later. All of the coordinators were very helpful and gracious in their responses, and even those who had not rendered decisions yet were able to let me know when to expect a decision. I say go for it!

I have to disagree... I know I personally got a lot of piece of mind by emailing (and in one case calling) the admissions offices at schools that I realized had already sent out some invites. I simply asked whether all interview invitations had already been extended, and I was given kind answers from each of the admissions coordinators. Although none of the schools I've applied to have sent out official rejections yet, I was able to find out early I was not getting an invite from several. So many of the neuro programs have already made decisions on invites (or are making them this week), yet most official rejections are not sent out until later February or March... at least for me, knowing sooner than that has been pretty important in figuring out Plan B. PS: I do feel that going to the admissions office and asking in person is inappropriate, but email or phone is quite acceptable. PPS: Good luck!

I'm in a similar situation, and am totally right there with the sentiment that *something* has to change. Upon learning that I was applying to graduate school, my PI began the process of hiring (2) people to replace me... so it looks like I'll be making *some* major change in the next few months. I just wish I could have decisions on the rest of my applications sooner. It's so hard to put 'Plan B' into place while your whole heart is still hopelessly devoted to 'Plan A'. Thankfully my Plan B (either a MS, SMP, or post-bacc) is just the longer, scenic route toward Plan A. The longer, scenic route with a $50,000+ toll.

If I ever decided to veer off the neuroscience research path, it would be to study/practice mind-body medicine and other complementary/alternative methods of wellness and healing. Or to deviate a little further, I'd love to spend another life as a wilderness adventure guide, leading groups on crazy mountain hikes or kayaking expeditions!

I'm glad I'm not the only one freaking out about being rejected everywhere...such a terrible feeling to have had since mid-November when I finished submitting my applications. What sucks more though is watching my terrible nightmare of 10/10 rejections creep toward becoming reality; with each additional rejection and each day passing without an interview invitation, the chance of being accepted anywhere is looking more and more grim. I know I'll be trying again next year, etc etc., but my most agonizing application nightmare has to be applying for several years in a row, improving all I can, and then still having a low gpa from undergrad years ago bar me from ever pursuing a PhD.

Thanks so much for your replies! @thebigbang: I'm glad to hear from someone in a similar boat. It sounds like you have made some great changes since last application cycle, so hopefully this will be your year! Moving to a "better lab" sounds like a great place to have started. Do you mean better in terms of better fit for you, or one that publishes more, etc.? Either way, that's a brave jump in this economy, so congrats! This is my first application cycle, so I definitely have a lot to learn and am definitely prepared to apply again next year. @armyofbieber: The lack of Neuroscience Master's programs has been a real concern, so I've also been considering SMPs and systems bio/phys MS programs. Northwestern has a 1 year Neuroscience MS with thesis that would be ideal, but I'm also considering master's programs at Georgetown, Drexel, Temple, Boston U., etc. I'll definitely look into UPitt's program now, too. Thank you for the suggestion! @greenertea: Thank you sincerely for your input; that's a lot to think about! I am in an academic lab now, and though I have been able to initiate a few things and take the lead on large parts of our major study, the regulations governing the type of research we do (human clinical neuroimaging) make it very difficult to start an independent project. Nevertheless, you make a great point and I will talk to my PI ASAP to figure out what is possible. I am currently drafting a paper and there are several others papers in the lab in the works on which I should get some authorship, so hopefully my CV will be beefed up well by next year. Applying to top-tier schools was a decision I struggled with also, as I wanted to make sure I only applied to schools strong in what I want to study, namely human neuroimaging. Unfortunately a school without imaging equipment would make it impossible to do my research, and it seems that the large majority of the schools who can afford to buy the multi-million dollar MRI equipment necessary for this research also happen to be way up in the top-tier. Prestige means little to me; I would be perfectly happy at a mid-low tier school with sufficient imaging equipment. I'm not sure how to get un-stuck from this point... perhaps I just need to expand my geographic tolerance and look back at southern and rural schools that I had previously dismissed. Believe me, I had never seriously considered carrying that kind of debt until a week ago, and just the prospect freaks me out. Thank you, also, for the encouragement on this year's apps... I guess in a few weeks I'll be able to evaluate things much better.

In the midst of what seems to be the primary month of interview invites for Neuro PhD programs, I've realized that with one rejection and no invites thus far, it's time to start putting plan B into place. Short Version: With a low undergraduate GPA, what would best improve my chances of admission to a Neuro PhD program: 1) a science post-bacc to boost my undergraduate GPA, or 2) a Master's degree to show that I can succeed in graduate level work. Would doing both simultaneously be feasible? Or, would it be more beneficial if I did one or the other part-time while continuing a research assistant position? Back story: I had resisted applying to a Master's program or Post-bacc until because I am completely on my own financially and don't have the money or any family safety net onto which I can accumulate debt comfortably..... but it seems like I'll need to take the debt risk because I can't imagine any other way into a PhD program, nor can I imagine a life without doing neuroscience research at the PhD level. I have 6+ years of neuroscience research experience, a year-long independent research thesis, great GRE and subject test scores, a strong SOP and strong LORs... the kiss of death for my application is my GPA. I did go to a very strong, highly ranked undergraduate institution, majored in Neuroscience and took as many challenging, upper division courses as I could. I also worked 25 hours a week in a research lab and filled the rest of my schedule with fascinating extracurricular activities... I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but for some reason all throughout undergrad I had the idea that GPA didn't matter; that as long as I truly learned in and outside of the classroom and initiated innovative research, I would be able to pursue PhD study. Clearly, I was wrong. I ended up with a GPA less than 3.0, low enough to not make the initial cut at most schools. I am currently employed full-time doing research, but feel like I need to do something to improve my chances in PhD admissions for next year. What do you think would be the best route to improve my application profile while still sustaining myself financially? Thanks!

@dhm0219: The toolbar up top right under the GradCafe banner has a tab "Results Survey". You can search by school and/or program to see whether anyone here has reported receiving interview invites yet. Since previous years' results are included, you can also get a good idea of when the school/program typically sends them out.

I'm in a similar boat; I also completed my applications to 10 neuro programs in early/mid November and am still anxiously awaiting any interview invite. I did hear from one program in mid-December, but that was an early rejection. I keep hearing that most Neuroscience programs notify all throughout January, but the waiting still sucks. I just want to know where I stand sooner rather than later so I can put some back-up plans into action. All of this time has just gotten me more and more nervous such that I've formulated life plans B, C, and D to improve my applications for next year. Is anyone else making more and more back-up plans as time spent waiting goes on?

"I can handle this", she reminded herself. Perhaps four years of time were enough to dim her memories of the months-long wait for admission into college, or perhaps the previous wait was easier because her fate was simply more certain. Regardless, the onslaught of emotions upon submitting her last graduate school application felt entirely new. She finally un-peeled her eyes from her laptop and slowly stood up from her desk chair.

The new GRE Verbal Reasoning section focuses on more commonly used words, and on using the words in context (ie: in a sentence, rather than in isolated analogies). Some questions on the new GRE have a different answer format, asking you to select multiple answer choices. In reading comprehension, you might have to identify which statements about a passage are true, and it can be a bit tricky determining whether the answer is just "b", "b and c", "b, c, and e", etc. etc; it is a lot more difficult to guess when there are 120 different answer combinations for each question. The ETS free practice guide is definitely worth doing to get used to the new question and answer types. For what it's worth, I have taken both the old and new GRE, and scored exactly the same on the verbal sections (740 old, 169 new, which are equivalent according to the concordance table).

The freedom of finally having them in is almost overwhelming. Today I finished sending in the last of my 11 PhD applications, and for one who typically procrastinates, this is a HUGE relief. Aside from waiting for my letter writers to finish submitting my recommendations, all I can do is hope and pray that my applications aren't trashed right away due to low undergrad GPA and that I don't have to go through this process again next year. Anyhow, congrats to all who have gotten this far! Any ideas for a new obsession to occupy my spare time during the waiting period?

Fiiiiinally finished my 11 applications. Wow, the light at the end of the application tunnel sure is worth it; as one who has a tendency to both be a perfectionist and procrastinator, it is such a relief to have the applications in and out of my hands (and a full two weeks before the earliest deadline, which would shock anyone who knows me!). At least for me, the "diversity statements" for some schools were quite an unexpected time-consumer... I wonder whether anyone actually reads them. Anyhow, as of now my letters of recommendation are the only pending pieces, and then we're on to judgment season! I'm really hoping I don't have to go through this process again next year, but applying to funded PhD programs with a low undergrad GPA, I can never be sure. Keep it up, all... just think, this is what you have been building toward for the last few years. Good luck!!