2019 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

[FirstYear]

SO CU Anschutz sent me an email December 3rd saying they would be reviewing applications mid-December and I would be contacted after that if I receive an interview. I emailed them a few days ago to ask about my status and received an automated reply that their respondent would be back in the office today. I still haven't heard anything and really want to send a follow up email, but I kind of feel like I should wait...

[fearfulocelot]

5 hours ago, earsnbrains said:

Congrats! I also noticed that you got interviews from UR BCS and Tufts/Jax. My undergrad was at UR BCS and I was highly involved in the department (in addition, my undergrad PI is dept chair), and my best friend started her phd at Tufts/Jax last year, so if you have any questions related to either of those programs or lift in rochester and bar harbor feel free to reach out! I know due to recent controversies people tend to have a lot of questions about UR BCS. 

Thanks so much! I will DM you. 

[fearfulocelot]

1 hour ago, _kb said:

No problem! I heard from someone else on here that the dates are feb 25-27 

Monday-Wednesday? Interesting strategy! Fingers crossed

[BabyScientist]

1 hour ago, fearfulocelot said:

Monday-Wednesday? Interesting strategy! Fingers crossed

BU Neuroscience is Monday to Wednesday. Those dates sound right. Neurobiology and Behavioral Neuro are different so depends which you applied to.

Side comment, why do they have so many neuro programs?! 

[fearfulocelot]

10 minutes ago, BabyScientist said:

BU Neuroscience is Monday to Wednesday. Those dates sound right. Neurobiology and Behavioral Neuro are different so depends which you applied to.

Side comment, why do they have so many neuro programs?! 

I applied to GPN, yep! Monday to Wednesday is actually a good idea--unable to get an overlap with the traditional Thursday-Saturday interview.

No clue, though they are all moderately different. Behavioral neuro is especially clinical/human research focused and in another school might be part of the psych department. 

Edited January 4, 2019 by fearfulocelot

[neko98]

Finally made an account instead of lurking on the results page because the anxiety is killing me haha

Does anyone know if Vanderbilt, (NGP) Northwestern (NUIN), or UC-Davis are still sending out interview invites? This is my second time applying - I was rejected by all the schools I applied to last year so I'm not too familiar with the interview/acceptance timeline...

[a1chemists]

5 hours ago, vallaboop said:

 Thanks! I have connections with Dartmouth as well that's why I was a little surprised I didn't receive an invite. I applied to the behavioral neuro specialization. But if you got one from the program director I'm probably SOL. 

Don't lose hope yet! In the email I got, it sounds like they haven't worked out all of the details about the interview weekend yet (no information about travel subsidy or hotel address etc.), so maybe they'd send another batch of invitations after everything has been set up...?

Edited January 4, 2019 by a1chemists

[neuronerd95]

I got a missed call from an “unknown caller” at 6... pretty sure it was just a telemarketer...

 

However, people who who have already received invites for Yale via phone, did you get an official email as well?

[zzzz233]

First interview at WashU is coming up within a week.. Anyone has suggestions for what to prepare and what to expect for the interviews? Thank you!

[blackprodigy]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:31 PM, zzzz233 said:

First interview at WashU is coming up within a week.. Anyone has suggestions for what to prepare and what to expect for the interviews? Thank you!

Your previous research. I'm bringing a digital copy on my flash drive and printing out my posterboard on a piece of paper. CVs couldn't hurt. Also, prepare questions for faculty and grad students that cant be answered on their website. Prepare yourself for some questions other than research related too. If you want specifics, lemme know.

 

Come business professional. Always the most formal. Address people by the formal before the tell you otherwise. Never break character even around grad students. Everyone is judging you. Everyone is watching! They will report back!

[blackprodigy]

Get a good nights sleep. Days are looong. Multiple interviews and tours so also dress comfortably! Also keep in mind that it may/will be snowing/very cold wherever you go vs where you're coming from!

[Ijustwanttodoneuroscience]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:31 PM, zzzz233 said:

First interview at WashU is coming up within a week.. Anyone has suggestions for what to prepare and what to expect for the interviews? Thank you!

Lucy Lai's blog is a godsend for insight into the interview experience!

Link: https://lucyblogs.wordpress.com/2018/08/02/all-about-phd-applications/#three

[neurogen]

On 1/2/2019 at 6:53 PM, Ryan_Goshipping said:

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. 

From what I can tell the interviews seemed the be sent out in a 2-3 day time frame, with neuro and dev bio (BMCBD?) being sent out before christmas. I know neuro interviews are feb 6-8 which is the same time as my interview and that the date for me to tell them if I could attend was January 7th, so I am not sure if they will send out more invites after that date passed and people decline/accept. This is all just my assumptions based of others who previously were accepted and my own experience with a different grad group at UCD. 

[neurogen]

Generally, does anyone know when schools send out emails for rejections? I received 1 from Duke but have heard radio silence from others who have already sent out invites (UCSD, U Penn, Princeton). I realize I am probably rejected from those schools as I am fairly under qualified, but just wondering if anyone knows when you normally get official rejections? I know its super variable and know someone who was not notified from a school until march/april last cycle, but my guess would be once all possible interview dates are passed its basically a rejection?

[fearfulocelot]

7 hours ago, FirstYear said:

Is this everyone's first time applying to graduate school? Are some of you applying for the second (or more) time?

Nope, round number 3 in 4 years! Goddamn but I've earned putting 'tenacious' on my personal statements. 

[pipettestan]

Anyone who got a UCSD Neuro interview know when the deadline to accept an invitation is?

[lil13]

4 hours ago, neuronerd95 said:

I got a missed call from an “unknown caller” at 6... pretty sure it was just a telemarketer...

 

However, people who who have already received invites for Yale via phone, did you get an official email as well?

Yeah I got a call from POI, and then an email with details sent from POI about 15 minutes after.

[maya123z]

6 hours ago, charmingdiary said:

Anyone who got a UCSD Neuro interview know when the deadline to accept an invitation is?

The deadline was this past Wednesday. 

[BabyScientist]

12 hours ago, fearfulocelot said:

I applied to GPN, yep! Monday to Wednesday is actually a good idea--unable to get an overlap with the traditional Thursday-Saturday interview.

No clue, though they are all moderately different. Behavioral neuro is especially clinical/human research focused and in another school might be part of the psych department. 

Sure, but neurobiology too? It just seems like they could all be the same program and nothing would be different. 

[BabyScientist]

9 hours ago, neurogen said:

Generally, does anyone know when schools send out emails for rejections? I received 1 from Duke but have heard radio silence from others who have already sent out invites (UCSD, U Penn, Princeton). I realize I am probably rejected from those schools as I am fairly under qualified, but just wondering if anyone knows when you normally get official rejections? I know its super variable and know someone who was not notified from a school until march/april last cycle, but my guess would be once all possible interview dates are passed its basically a rejection?

Some may not ever send rejections. 

[BabyScientist]

10 hours ago, blackprodigy said:

Your previous research. I'm bringing a digital copy on my flash drive and printing out my posterboard on a piece of paper. CVs couldn't hurt. Also, prepare questions for faculty and grad students that cant be answered on their website. Prepare yourself for some questions other than research related too. If you want specifics, lemme know.

 

Come business professional. Always the most formal. Address people by the formal before the tell you otherwise. Never break character even around grad students. Everyone is judging you. Everyone is watching! They will report back!

 

10 hours ago, zzzz233 said:

First interview at Wash U is coming up within a week.. Anyone has suggestions for what to prepare and what to expect for the interviews? Thank you!

They will likely already have your CV in front of them. I printed out a bunch and over 7 schools and who knows how many interviews never had to pull one out.

As far as previous research: if there's something about your research that's really not easy to talk about without visuals, feel free to bring a visual aid, but it really isn't otherwise necessary. You're having a conversation, not giving a presentation. If you can just discuss, that works.

You don't really have to have read about any of their work or have preset questions about their work. They'll tell you about it there and you can ask whatever you want to about it. If you happen to be super interested and just have a question that you didn't plan, great, ask it. It shouldn't seem inorganic. I read a ton of papers before my first recruitment weekend, couldn't keep em all straight in my head, and they never came up because they all just started telling me about their work without asking if I already knew about it. Didn't prep for the rest of the recruitment weekends.

I have to emphasize that it's supposed to be a conversation with someone who could one day be your mentor. They know you're academically qualified. They want to see your enthusiasm and personal skills. They want to get to know *you*, so be yourself.

[_kb]

36 minutes ago, BabyScientist said:

Sure, but neurobiology too? It just seems like they could all be the same program and nothing would be different. 

the neurobiology is through the bio phd program, so its just a different track that allows you into other labs rather than strictly neuroscience! 

[_kb]

17 minutes ago, BabyScientist said:

 

They will likely already have your CV in front of them. I printed out a bunch and over 7 schools and who knows how many interviews never had to pull one out.

As far as previous research: if there's something about your research that's really not easy to talk about without visuals, feel free to bring a visual aid, but it really isn't otherwise necessary. You're having a conversation, not giving a presentation. If you can just discuss, that works.

You don't really have to have read about any of their work or have preset questions about their work. They'll tell you about it there and you can ask whatever you want to about it. If you happen to be super interested and just have a question that you didn't plan, great, ask it. It shouldn't seem inorganic. I read a ton of papers before my first recruitment weekend, couldn't keep em all straight in my head, and they never came up because they all just started telling me about their work without asking if I already knew about it. Didn't prep for the rest of the recruitment weekends.

I have to emphasize that it's supposed to be a conversation with someone who could one day be your mentor. They know you're academically qualified. They want to see your enthusiasm and personal skills. They want to get to know *you*, so be yourself.

This is the advice I've heard from most PI's / grad students so I was planning on doing the same, thanks for clarifying!  

[blackprodigy]

54 minutes ago, BabyScientist said:

 

They will likely already have your CV in front of them. I printed out a bunch and over 7 schools and who knows how many interviews never had to pull one out.

As far as previous research: if there's something about your research that's really not easy to talk about without visuals, feel free to bring a visual aid, but it really isn't otherwise necessary. You're having a conversation, not giving a presentation. If you can just discuss, that works.

You don't really have to have read about any of their work or have preset questions about their work. They'll tell you about it there and you can ask whatever you want to about it. If you happen to be super interested and just have a question that you didn't plan, great, ask it. It shouldn't seem inorganic. I read a ton of papers before my first recruitment weekend, couldn't keep em all straight in my head, and they never came up because they all just started telling me about their work without asking if I already knew about it. Didn't prep for the rest of the recruitment weekends.

I have to emphasize that it's supposed to be a conversation with someone who could one day be your mentor. They know you're academically qualified. They want to see your enthusiasm and personal skills. They want to get to know *you*, so be yourself.

I know you're not giving a presentation. But there some that do want impromptu presentations...I've seen a few. It makes for ease when discussing some works. And yes they may know your background, but it still doesn't hurt. Rather have and not need than need and not have.

I didnt mean to come off as you need to be a robot and have everything all figured out, but it is important to seem like you have an idea of what's going on in the industry and what attracted you to that professor. 

Being as prepared as I can be makes me more confident and I can leave knowing that I did all that I could do to rock my interviews. People take notice to details. It sets you apart.  At the end of the day, do what makes you comfortable. If you can trust the process and be more of a "wing it" or "go with the flow kinda person", do you.

[vallaboop]

13 hours ago, a1chemists said:

Don't lose hope yet! In the email I got, it sounds like they haven't worked out all of the details about the interview weekend yet (no information about travel subsidy or hotel address etc.), so maybe they'd send another batch of invitations after everything has been set up...?

Thanks! I'll try to stay positive  good luck to you!