2019 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

[glialstar]

Happy New Year everyone! Now that the break is over, the nerves have started up again ? Ive heard Yale neuro meets this week (the 3rd, possibly the 4th) and Dartmouth neuro meets on the 11th, and will send out decisions in the days after. Good luck everyone!

[maya123z]

Anyone know if MIT is still sending official invites?

[cam27]

  On 1/2/2019 at 2:53 PM, maya123z said:

Anyone know if MIT is still sending official invites?

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Their email on 12/19 made it seem like they would be through January: "Applications will remain under review through the months of December and January. Once all materials have been sorted, we will begin sending official interview invitations..." Hoping for the best. 

[maya123z]

  On 1/2/2019 at 4:15 PM, cam27 said:

Their email on 12/19 made it seem like they would be through January: "Applications will remain under review through the months of December and January. Once all materials have been sorted, we will begin sending official interview invitations..." Hoping for the best. 

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The second sentence if what concerns me. Since they've started sending invites doesn't that all the "sorting" is complete? It's kind of unclear.

Edited January 2, 2019 by maya123z

[redgzb]

Has anyone heard from Albert Einstein College of Medicine? 

P.S. got rejection from UPenn today, RIP

[neuronerd95]

Columbia just sent out an email for its first interview weekend and there are 29 applicants on the list. I know they have another interview weekend as well so I estimate that they are interviewing around 60 people. That's quite a lot, on their website their seem to be about 20 people a year. This is only a 30% chance approximately. 

 

Do you know if they are accounting for people to turn down their offer? I'm wondering if it's like close to 50% for being accepted? I'm just really worried as it is one of my top choices and people were saying that if you receive an interview than you're pretty much in. Statistically it doesn't seem like it though 

[aurlito]

International student here, I applied to a couple of cognitive neuroscience programs and haven't heard a thing from any of them: 

NYU (cog psych)

albert einstein (Neuro)

Boston( cog Psych)

Dartmouth ( Brain sciences)

Rochester ( Brain and Cognition)

Uni of Wash (psych)

I have lost all hope... Does anyone have any news about these programs?

[Ptow]

  On 1/2/2019 at 6:30 PM, neuronerd95 said:

Columbia just sent out an email for its first interview weekend and there are 29 applicants on the list. I know they have another interview weekend as well so I estimate that they are interviewing around 60 people. That's quite a lot, on their website their seem to be about 20 people a year. This is only a 30% chance approximately. 

 

Do you know if they are accounting for people to turn down their offer? I'm wondering if it's like close to 50% for being accepted? I'm just really worried as it is one of my top choices and people were saying that if you receive an interview than you're pretty much in. Statistically it doesn't seem like it though 

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From what I understand, most programs will accept roughly twice as many students as they plan on matriculating as roughly half will accept the offer. I imagine this is not quite as accurate for top programs where more than half are likely to accept, but it's probably still close.

[tobias_neuron]

  On 1/2/2019 at 6:30 PM, neuronerd95 said:

Columbia just sent out an email for its first interview weekend and there are 29 applicants on the list. I know they have another interview weekend as well so I estimate that they are interviewing around 60 people. That's quite a lot, on their website their seem to be about 20 people a year. This is only a 30% chance approximately. 

 

Do you know if they are accounting for people to turn down their offer? I'm wondering if it's like close to 50% for being accepted? I'm just really worried as it is one of my top choices and people were saying that if you receive an interview than you're pretty much in. Statistically it doesn't seem like it though 

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Are these 29 applicants from all tracks? Do you know when will they sent the invitations for the second interview?

[zzzz233]

  On 1/2/2019 at 12:35 PM, vallaboop said:

Thanks, that was helpful! Who was the professor if you don't mind me asking

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Hi, it was Dr. Jeffrey Taube.

[impalathief]

Has anybody heard from the direct neuro route at University of Michigan? I saw on here and on the results page at least one person heard back but it doesn't seem like they've sent out their invites yet or maybe the majority of people who applied there aren't on gradcafe... 

Just curious - it's a later one so maybe they've just been holding off. 

[cam27]

  On 1/2/2019 at 8:55 PM, impalathief said:

Has anybody heard from the direct neuro route at University of Michigan? I saw on here and on the results page at least one person heard back but it doesn't seem like they've sent out their invites yet or maybe the majority of people who applied there aren't on gradcafe... 

Just curious - it's a later one so maybe they've just been holding off. 

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I have. Received a call from the director mid-December and an email the next day (interview). I'm not sure if they are sending them in separate batches though... 

[k8e]

  On 1/2/2019 at 8:55 PM, impalathief said:

Has anybody heard from the direct neuro route at University of Michigan? I saw on here and on the results page at least one person heard back but it doesn't seem like they've sent out their invites yet or maybe the majority of people who applied there aren't on gradcafe... 

Just curious - it's a later one so maybe they've just been holding off. 

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I got a call Dec 14th from the director. Since talking to grad students, i’ve heard they’re done sending out invites for now until they have a count on the number of people who accept them, and as people decline the interview they plan to invite some more.

[lil13]

  On 1/2/2019 at 4:34 AM, blarn_4349 said:

So are we calling it for CNBC PNC? I saw a couple people say they were releasing them on the 22nd, but only one result submitted...I feel like they could just be doing another round in January, no?

I tried to email them last week, but got an out of office message. Maybe I'll try again later this week.

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Yeah I think that might have been it... it seems like a really small program. Just sad since on the website they seemed to encourage the idea that the program is primarily for people with quant backgrounds (math, cs, physics) to learn to apply their field to comp neuro. As someone who wants to switch to comp neuro from applied math, I think that it might have been so competitive they wanted people with double majors (in neuro and in a quant field) and comp neuro lab experience. Oh well.

[fearfulocelot]

Just found a interview invite buried in my spam box, with a response deadline of 1/4 (UMass Amherst). Nearly had a heart attack. Check your spam boxes, everyone!

 

And holy fuck Gmail, why the hell?

[neurogen]

  On 1/2/2019 at 2:17 AM, Ryan_Goshipping said:

congrats!! I applied to UCD as well and haven't heard from them yet. In fact, I only got a few rejections but no interview. Anxious and desperate, but you gave me some hope~

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Thanks! And was it for the Neuro program? I know interviews are Feb 6-8th but I am not sure how the program works in terms of waitlist, etc but I can try and find out as I know some faculty involved. I think they are behind compared to most years due to all of the fires closing campus late November. 

[a1chemists]

  On 12/31/2018 at 5:35 PM, vallaboop said:

I saw two posts on the results page that interview invites were sent out on Friday for Dartmouth Psychological and Brain Sciences program. Does anyone know which area of interest sent out invites? Or was it the whole department?

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I got mine from their graduate program director and it sounds like an official invitation (?). But both myself and my recommenders have a lot of personal connections at Dartmouth (one of my recommender graduated from the program director's lab), so I won't be surprised if they haven't sent invitations to others yet. I applied to the Cognitive/Cognitive Neuroscience specialization.

[alwaysNeuro]

  On 1/3/2019 at 12:22 AM, jayewal said:

Thanks! And was it for the Neuro program? I know interviews are Feb 6-8th but I am not sure how the program works in terms of waitlist, etc but I can try and find out as I know some faculty involved. I think they are behind compared to most years due to all of the fires closing campus late November. 

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Thanks for sharing the info! Yes, I was talking about the neuro program. I handed in my application pretty late, just a few hours before the deadline, I am not sure if it will delay the review of my profile~ BTW, do you happen to have any knowledge of the developmental biology program in UCD, some of my friends did apply to it and they haven't received any update. 

[blarn_4349]

  On 1/2/2019 at 11:07 PM, lil13 said:

Yeah I think that might have been it... it seems like a really small program. Just sad since on the website they seemed to encourage the idea that the program is primarily for people with quant backgrounds (math, cs, physics) to learn to apply their field to comp neuro. As someone who wants to switch to comp neuro from applied math, I think that it might have been so competitive they wanted people with double majors (in neuro and in a quant field) and comp neuro lab experience. Oh well.

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Yeah I guess that makes sense. I did get the sense that it was a small program, although I was surprised to see a number of people talking about it on here which made me think it might be a popular one after all. The only thing is that everything about the application itself was weird and different from other schools, so my thinking is it's a wildcard and they could do anything. But most likely they're done.

I agree with you about the quantitative focus; it would've been great for me as well. I actually have a double major in neuro and CS, and a couple years of postgrad research (but not computational), but there were other issues with my application such that I'm sure I wasn't in any school's "definitely" pile. On the other hand though, in general it's really common for people to enter any neuroscience program after having majored in applied math or physics, so I think you could also be very competitive at most of the "traditional" neuro programs.

[blarn_4349]

  On 1/2/2019 at 4:34 AM, blarn_4349 said:

So are we calling it for CNBC PNC? I saw a couple people say they were releasing them on the 22nd, but only one result submitted...I feel like they could just be doing another round in January, no?

I tried to email them last week, but got an out of office message. Maybe I'll try again later this week.

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Oh I just noticed this from the confirmation email after submitting the application:

"...We realize that waiting is very difficult. However, we request that you do not call or email our offices to inquire about the status of your application."

whoops lol

[shanaya_neuro]

Hi

I am an international student from India. I needed help with my profile evaluation

• My Profile: Working as an RA(research assistant)  in Computational Genetics since 1 year and a half. 
• BE in Biotechnology from Private university(2013-2017), Bangalore
  CGPA: 7.55/10
  Research experience:
  Summer Internship in neuropsych lab
  Final year project (5 months) : Computational neuroscience
• Will my application be badly affected because of low CGPA?
  TOEFL score: 98; GRE: 308, 3 strong LORs, 0 publications, 1 poster presentation
• I have applied to universities which does not require GRE. 
• APPLIED: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, U Alabama(Birmingham), U Cincinnati, UMass Medical School(Worcester), UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Health Sciences Center, Brandeis University, University of Oklahoma health science center, University of Buffallo
• Rejected: Icahn School of Medicine
• Any chance of getting in these applied universities? or am I aiming too high? Please help

Thanks in Advance?

 

 

[blackprodigy]

  On 1/3/2019 at 5:53 AM, shanaya_neuro said:

Hi

I am an international student from India. I needed help with my profile evaluation

• My Profile: Working as an RA(research assistant)  in Computational Genetics since 1 year and a half. 
• BE in Biotechnology from Private university(2013-2017), Bangalore
  CGPA: 7.55/10
  Research experience:
  Summer Internship in neuropsych lab
  Final year project (5 months) : Computational neuroscience
• Will my application be badly affected because of low CGPA?
  TOEFL score: 98; GRE: 308, 3 strong LORs, 0 publications, 1 poster presentation
• I have applied to universities which does not require GRE. 
• APPLIED: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, U Alabama(Birmingham), U Cincinnati, UMass Medical School(Worcester), UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Health Sciences Center, Brandeis University, University of Oklahoma health science center, University of Buffallo
• Rejected: Icahn School of Medicine
• Any chance of getting in these applied universities? or am I aiming too high? Please help

Thanks in Advance?

 

 

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Definitely a chance! And there are so many more great ones without GRE! I say this in case things may not go so well this go round. That includes UNC Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, Harvard, Stanford, WashU in St. Louis, and Vanderbilt IGP. 

 

I think you stand a chance (pretty good one depending on how low of GPA you mean by low), but you should have applied to at least 3-4 more safety schools...just so you don't end up empty handed. An even spread of high to mid tier schools...especially you being international...is key. I ended up applying to about 15 schools! Thus far I have 5 interviews. But it's a chance I may not get in even after that---despite decent times to a few of them. 

 

So yeah...great programs...and dont be shy to reach out to some faculty you're interested in!

[shanaya_neuro]

  On 1/3/2019 at 8:15 AM, blackprodigy said:

Definitely a chance! And there are so many more great ones without GRE! I say this in case things may not go so well this go round. That includes UNC Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, Harvard, Stanford, WashU in St. Louis, and Vanderbilt IGP. 

 

I think you stand a chance (pretty good one depending on how low of GPA you mean by low), but you should have applied to at least 3.-4 more safety schools...just so you don't end up empty handed. An even spread of high to mid tier schools...especially you being international...is key. I ended up applying to about 15 schools! Thus far I have 5 interviews. But it's a chance I may not get in even after that---despite decent times to a few of them. 

 

So yeah...great programs...and dont be shy to reach out to some faculty you're interested in!

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Thank you so much.

My undergrad gpa will be close to 3.0/4.0 gpa in us scale. I should have applied to more schools but my decision to apply to states was a very sudden one. I applied a week before December 1st and arranging for money and all documents took time and I missed many deadlines like of Emory University, Umich Ann Arbor  and Vanderbilt  Neuroscience asked for GRE scores as far as I remember.

I reached out to few faculties, a few of them replied saying that I can apply to the universities grad program.

 

[blackprodigy]

  On 1/3/2019 at 10:10 AM, shanaya_neuro said:

Thank you so much.

My undergrad gpa will be close to 3.0/4.0 gpa in us scale. I should have applied to more schools but my decision to apply to states was a very sudden one. I applied a week before December 1st and arranging for money and all documents took time and I missed many deadlines like of Emory University, Umich Ann Arbor  and Vanderbilt  Neuroscience asked for GRE scores as far as I remember.

I reached out to few faculties, a few of them replied saying that I can apply to the universities grad program.

 

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Yes, but more so emailing faculty members whose research you're interested in. It may help you. They may out in a good word for you to admissions.

 

"Dear Dr. (blank),

I am applying this season and am interested in your work with (blank). My background fits in as I have done (blank)."

 

Then you could ask for a phone or Skype to talk about what's currently going on in the lab, etc. 

I would try this with at least 1 faculty member per university you're applying for.

Good luck!

[impalathief]

  On 1/2/2019 at 9:18 PM, cam27 said:

I have. Received a call from the director mid-December and an email the next day (interview). I'm not sure if they are sending them in separate batches though... 

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  On 1/2/2019 at 10:30 PM, k8e said:

I got a call Dec 14th from the director. Since talking to grad students, i’ve heard they’re done sending out invites for now until they have a count on the number of people who accept them, and as people decline the interview they plan to invite some more.

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Thanks you two! That's what I kinda figured was going on.