2019 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

[yuxin]

I got an email from BU but I am not sure whether it is the interview, or just a campus visit? I am so nervous for that.

 

Dear Yuxin,

 

It is a great pleasure for us to invite you to attend our recruitment activities on February 25th and 26th so that you can explore, first hand, the opportunities for neuroscience training in the Boston University Graduate Program for Neuroscience.  Our Program is without walls allowing students to move freely between their studies and research opportunities on the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus.  Our Aim is to make sure that you have a broad exposure to all topics of neuroscience yet at the same time give you the flexibility that you will need to pursue your specialized interests in neuroscience, taking advantage of our excellent faculty in behavioral, computational, systems and translational neuroscience that will inspire and focus your efforts.

 

We sincerely hope that you will give us the honor of hosting you and we look forward to personally introducing you to our terrific students and faculty mentors.  Please contact us to let us know of your availability to participate on both of these dates. Given your current address it will also be necessary to have you arrive on the 24^th.

 

Warm wishes,

Shelley, Sandi, Nazifa and the GPN community of faculty and students

[DevoLevo]

33 minutes ago, yuxin said:

I got an email from BU but I am not sure whether it is the interview, or just a campus visit? I am so nervous for that.

 

Dear Yuxin,

 

It is a great pleasure for us to invite you to attend our recruitment activities on February 25th and 26th so that you can explore, first hand, the opportunities for neuroscience training in the Boston University Graduate Program for Neuroscience.  Our Program is without walls allowing students to move freely between their studies and research opportunities on the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus.  Our Aim is to make sure that you have a broad exposure to all topics of neuroscience yet at the same time give you the flexibility that you will need to pursue your specialized interests in neuroscience, taking advantage of our excellent faculty in behavioral, computational, systems and translational neuroscience that will inspire and focus your efforts.

 

We sincerely hope that you will give us the honor of hosting you and we look forward to personally introducing you to our terrific students and faculty mentors.  Please contact us to let us know of your availability to participate on both of these dates. Given your current address it will also be necessary to have you arrive on the 24^th.

 

Warm wishes,

Shelley, Sandi, Nazifa and the GPN community of faculty and students

Recruitment = Interview in most cases; lots of schools have started calling it that to make it less scary and emphasize the fact that you've passed the biggest hurdle and shouldn't be super stressed for these last interview.  It will probably be the normal lineup of a few interviews plus lots of activities to show you around the campus/area like dinners with faculty/current grads, tours etc. Congrats!

[yuxin]

4 minutes ago, DevoLevo said:

Recruitment = Interview in most cases; lots of schools have started calling it that to make it less scary and emphasize the fact that you've passed the biggest hurdle and shouldn't be super stressed for these last interview.  It will probably be the normal lineup of a few interviews plus lots of activities to show you around the campus/area like dinners with faculty/current grads, tours etc. Congrats!

Thank you so much!

[AnonNeuroGrad]

58 minutes ago, yuxin said:

Thank you so much!

Exact same email I got; congrats on your interview and see you there

[yuxin]

5 minutes ago, HawaiiLee808 said:

Exact same email I got; congrats on your interview and see you there

Congrats! See you

[luna314]

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right topic to post this, but has anyone heard from UC Berkeley Vision Science PhD program?

[Emily2715]

what do people think are the chances for people who haven't been rejected from MIT and got the original email?

[AnonNeuroGrad]

1 minute ago, Emily2715 said:

what do people think are the chances for people who haven't been rejected from MIT and got the original email?

BCS or Media lab? I assumed BCS was done

[Emily2715]

Just now, HawaiiLee808 said:

BCS or Media lab? I assumed BCS was done

BCS, I also thought so but know that they sent out some rejections already so wasn't sure

[AnonNeuroGrad]

7 minutes ago, Emily2715 said:

BCS, I also thought so but know that they sent out some rejections already so wasn't sure

I'd say 0% tbh. They seem to be winnowing it down slowly but I'd move on.

Edit: I told my friend in BCS that I hadn't heard anything and he didn't say "oh well you should keep waiting to see" but said "oh sorry you won;t be coming here" so I'm assuming they're done done except for exceptional cases (a lot of people decline invitations which won't/didn't happen)

Edited February 10, 2019 by HawaiiLee808

[kath88]

I haven’t received an invite from Stanford neuro but also haven’t received an invitation either... has this happened to anyone else? I don’t want to be annoying and email but I am also curious 

[kath88]

11 hours ago, kath88 said:

I haven’t received an invite from Stanford neuro but also haven’t received an invitation either... has this happened to anyone else? I don’t want to be annoying and email but I am also curious 

Sorry I meant haven’t received a rejection 

[maya123z]

11 hours ago, kath88 said:

I haven’t received an invite from Stanford neuro but also haven’t received an invitation either... has this happened to anyone else? I don’t want to be annoying and email but I am also curious 

Stanford's interview is in like 2 weeks so I doubt they'll be sending any more invites tbh.

Edited February 10, 2019 by maya123z

[shanaya_neuro]

On 1/11/2019 at 2:42 AM, BabyScientist said:

I got a lab job after undergrad, and I've worked at the NIH with IRTA post-baccs. It seems to me that they're really the same thing.

It probably depends what kind of lab job you get, but I was an RA and my lab really had me focusing on research and my own projects. Got a bunch of publications, first authorship in the works, 2 conference posters, went to a ton of talks. My PI knew I wanted to go to grad school and guided my time in her lab toward it.

As far as postbacc programs, if they're just research, no classes, they're pretty much a poorly paid RAship. I think some have perks like free GRE classes and the likes, though. The IRTA program isn't actually much more selective than applying for a job - PIs essentially get a list of applicants and pick out the people they like (I've been told it's literally an "add to cart" situation).

As far as how admissions committees see them, they're no different. The admissions committees are interested in the work you did and what you accomplished, not what your job title or program title was. Figure out what you want for you. Working at the NIH has its own perks (name recognition, PI networking, resources), and a job/RA/tech position could mean get a foot in a school you're interested in attending, or not having to move from where you live now, and probably getting paid more.

Hi,

I needed some advice on applying for Post-bac program in Neuroscience.  So I am an international student and I have applied for Fall 2019 admissions in Neuroscience. I already got 4 rejects and awaiting any reply from other 4 . But since it's late I have already accepted that as rejects. I was thinking to apply for Post-bac programs at various schools. Could you suggest me places where I can apply and what are the chances for an international student to be accepted for this program?

Thanks in Advance!!

[_kb]

6 hours ago, kath88 said:

Sorry I meant haven’t received a rejection 

i got an email to check my decision in the portal a couple weeks ago (rejected lol) so maybe there is still hope for you! I'd also recommend checking the portal too just in case

[AnonNeuroGrad]

1 hour ago, _kb said:

i got an email to check my decision in the portal a couple weeks ago (rejected lol) so maybe there is still hope for you! I'd also recommend checking the portal too just in case

same from Stanford Biosciences (includes neuroscience)

Edited February 10, 2019 by HawaiiLee808

[BabyScientist]

On 2/10/2019 at 11:02 AM, shanaya_neuro said:

Hi,

I needed some advice on applying for Post-bac program in Neuroscience.  So I am an international student and I have applied for Fall 2019 admissions in Neuroscience. I already got 4 rejects and awaiting any reply from other 4 . But since it's late I have already accepted that as rejects. I was thinking to apply for Post-bac programs at various schools. Could you suggest me places where I can apply and what are the chances for an international student to be accepted for this program?

Thanks in Advance!!

It depends on if you want a formal postbacc program or a tech job. Both are equally valuable if you get the right one. As an international student I don't think you qualify for any NIH programs, and I imagine it depends on if you need a visa and if the employer is willing to sponsor you.

It's really hard to say what the chances for admission are especially since I don't know the visa situation. If you want a tech job, that's just a matter of emailing faculty anywhere who you're interested in working with and telling them you're looking for a technician or RA position as a postbacc. Alternatively you could find out which universities have formal postbacc programs and apply for those. 

[maya123z]

Is anyone else arriving a bit early to UCSD interviews? I'll have Feb 24-25 pretty much free. If anyone wants to explore the city together let me know!

[cccO_O]

anyone who interviewed at caltech cns or neurobio heard back?

[kli58]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:51 PM, kath88 said:

I haven’t received an invite from Stanford neuro but also haven’t received an invitation either... has this happened to anyone else? I don’t want to be annoying and email but I am also curious 

I had a similar situation. It turned out that their Neuroscience program could not offer me an interview but their bioengineering program was willing to invite me for interview.

[vlm]

3 hours ago, CindyO_O said:

anyone who interviewed at caltech cns or neurobio heard back?

I haven't heard back but it's still early right? Do you ask because you know someone else has heard back?

[comp_neuro_guy]

On 2/9/2019 at 3:53 AM, luna314 said:

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this is the right topic to post this, but has anyone heard from UC Berkeley Vision Science PhD program?

Yeah, interview is 2/27-3/1. Sorry to be bearer of less than great news  

 

[space8]

Hi! Has anyone heard from the Caltech Social and Decision Neuroscience Program? I know they had a later deadline than most schools, but I'm not sure if that means they send out interviews later, as well. Thanks!

[cam27]

On 2/11/2019 at 5:43 PM, maya123z said:

Is anyone else arriving a bit early to UCSD interviews? I'll have Feb 24-25 pretty much free. If anyone wants to explore the city together let me know!

I assume you're group A because of Stanford? I'm in the second group but maybe I'll see you on Wednesday! Best of luck!

[ssh]

On 2/11/2019 at 7:43 PM, maya123z said:

Is anyone else arriving a bit early to UCSD interviews? I'll have Feb 24-25 pretty much free. If anyone wants to explore the city together let me know!

Hi, just wondering when did you hear back from UNC?