2020 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

[darklings]

6 hours ago, Milagll96 said:

Hi everyone!

I am an international student and I haven’t yet heard about any of the programs I have applied to, not even rejections (which I expect from most of them though, as they are all top league universities) do you think I should be asking them if they have finished sending out interviews or wait until January?

A little more on my background:

international student, no gre, 117/120 in toefl, doble undergrad in pharmacy and biotechnology GPA:3,95/4,00. Graduated as top of my class (1/80 I think, but I’m not sure how many people there are in my program to be honest) , 40/49 subjects in undergrad grades with honors, and my studies were funded completely by my university and regional government. Received other awards and scholarships based on my academic achievements throughout my undergrad

No publications. bachelor thesis graded with honors and 3 years of experience working in a neuro pharmacology lab in my uni with an scholarhip+1 summer internship abroad+ future (starting in March) Erasmus research stay in Karolinska Institute working on Alzheimer’s.

Spent a semester in Uchicago (one of the universities I applied too) and managed to get recommendation letter from one of my professors there (not research related though, she has a law and entrepreneurship background)+ 2 recommendations letter one form my PI in Spain and another from professors in my undergrad.

I know that just good grades won’t get me into any program, so be sincere please on your opinions.

Thank you.

 

Don’t worry too much, many schools send out invites for international applicants in Jan.

[Zoeyg]

On 12/22/2019 at 11:48 AM, guy mcperson said:

I thought I'd provide a little balance against the dude getting interviews at every school he / she applied to. You know, for those of us with anxiety issues.

I applied to 12 and am currently 2 for 8. 

Interviews at Upenn and Michigan.

No interviews at Harvard, UCSF (rejected), Northwestern (but not rejected?), Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Berkeley (my number 2 RIP )

Waiting on WashU, UCSD, Stanford (lol), and Yale.

UMICH is great! Congratulations!

I’ve only got one for 15 schools I applied. 
I know the anxiety. I guess 80% of the programs I applied is a no for me since they’ve already sent invitations.?

[Mimititi]

I’m still not sure of my count right now! I have 3 in limbo, with strong year-long contact with the POI at one. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Mimititi

[neuroguy177]

3 hours ago, gradcafeneurosis said:

I also received an email for interview at Columbia. Email had my name in it, but seemed like a mass email. A surprise on a Sunday, but a welcome one!

Congratulations! Was this for the Neurobiology and behavior program?

[RobertMoog]

5 hours ago, Syesdnil11 said:

Did you apply direct to U Mich neuroscience or through PIBS?

PIBS! 

[RobertMoog]

53 minutes ago, Mimititi said:

I’m still not sure of my count right now! I have 3 in limbo, with strong year-long contact with the POI at one. 

3 in limbo too, uh how much I hate it!!

I got a very positive response from one POI but then the program was the first to reject me. Not the level of contact compared to you though. 

[RobertMoog]

8 hours ago, Milagll96 said:

Hi everyone!

I am an international student and I haven’t yet heard about any of the programs I have applied to, not even rejections (which I expect from most of them though, as they are all top league universities) do you think I should be asking them if they have finished sending out interviews or wait until January?

A little more on my background:

international student, no gre, 117/120 in toefl, doble undergrad in pharmacy and biotechnology GPA:3,95/4,00. Graduated as top of my class (1/80 I think, but I’m not sure how many people there are in my program to be honest) , 40/49 subjects in undergrad grades with honors, and my studies were funded completely by my university and regional government. Received other awards and scholarships based on my academic achievements throughout my undergrad

No publications. bachelor thesis graded with honors and 3 years of experience working in a neuro pharmacology lab in my uni with an scholarhip+1 summer internship abroad+ future (starting in March) Erasmus research stay in Karolinska Institute working on Alzheimer’s.

Spent a semester in Uchicago (one of the universities I applied too) and managed to get recommendation letter from one of my professors there (not research related though, she has a law and entrepreneurship background)+ 2 recommendations letter one form my PI in Spain and another from professors in my undergrad.

I know that just good grades won’t get me into any program, so be sincere please on your opinions.

Thank you.

 

It also depends on the programs you have applied for. I'm sure you will get something, unless you only applied for a few very top ones.

Don't panic there's one more workday before Christmas! and January to come of course. 

Not sure if the "irrelevant" reference will do anything, but if it's strong then it will still boost your apps. 

IMHO you have a great profile of relevant research too, not just good grades. And good grades are important (I'm often ashamed about how to explain the dip in my 3rd and 4th year major electives), at least you won't be easily cut out by the numbers!

[micki]

On 12/22/2019 at 11:48 AM, guy mcperson said:

I thought I'd provide a little balance against the dude getting interviews at every school he / she applied to. You know, for those of us with anxiety issues.

I applied to 12 and am currently 2 for 8. 

Interviews at Upenn and Michigan.

No interviews at Harvard, UCSF (rejected), Northwestern (but not rejected?), Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Berkeley (my number 2 RIP )

Waiting on WashU, UCSD, Stanford (lol), and Yale.

To add more balance, let me tell ya'll that I have heard nothing at all from any of the 7 schools I applied to. 

Cheers ??

[RobertMoog]

I'm also on the lower side of the balance lol, but I'm sure we will all get something eventually. You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes...

Whether we have 1 or 10 or no interviews at all, it doesn't hurt to start preping! Does anyone know if there is an existing interview prep group/chat for all those who want some "peer-reviews?" If not, is anyone interested in starting one together...?

[neuro101]

Has anyone heard from the Tri-Institutional Computational Bio program? And know if NYU is done sending out invites or are they sent out staggered?

[gaultiero]

Anyone has info on UCSD & UCLA for intl applicants? Haven't heard a thing. Thanks

[Zoeyg]

1 hour ago, neuro101 said:

Has anyone heard from the Tri-Institutional Computational Bio program? And know if NYU is done sending out invites or are they sent out staggered?

I think NYU has a second batch on January.

[Zoeyg]

38 minutes ago, gaultiero said:

Anyone has info on UCSD & UCLA for intl applicants? Haven't heard a thing. Thanks

I applied UCSD as an international and haven’t heard anything yet.

[Syesdnil11]

4 hours ago, RobertMoog said:

PIBS! 

Ah I see. The reason I asked was bc I applied directly to the neuroscience program and I haven’t heard anything back yet. Looks like interviews were sent out on the 11th and people are posting they got rejections on the 18th but some don’t specify if they applied through PIBS or direct. I’m trying to gauge whether I should assume a rejection is imminent or if I’m on some kind of backup list in the event that some people decline interviews...

[whitemocha]

Did any international applicants receive invitations from Columbia? 

[Syesdnil11]

Does anyone know if MSU has sent out invites yet? Nobody has posted anything yet on the boards and it looks like they historically have sent out invites Dec 14-18 (ish). 

[Zoeyg]

6 minutes ago, whitemocha said:

Did any international applicants receive invitations from Columbia? 

Nope. Stay optimistic!

[AdamSugi]

7 hours ago, lil_neuron said:

i dont want to put you on the spot but.... how are you organizing all of these interviews your getting??  you are superstar right now

That is true @lencarn 

You should start a youtube channel and Vlog hehehe

Do you think is there anything in your profile that stands out or it is kind of the overall consistence of your applications.

[lencarn]

6 minutes ago, AdamSugi said:

That is true @lencarn 

You should start a youtube channel and Vlog hehehe

Do you think is there anything in your profile that stands out or it is kind of the overall consistence of your applications.

My stats were mediocre to be honest. I have a decent GPA but I did get B+ in some critical science courses and my GRE was not competitive (although I only sent it to Caltech and MIT)

At the end of the day what stood out can only be determined by the committee, but I would say it was my research experience that would have stood out and I think I effectively conveyed my passion for science through my PS. For the schools I cared most about, I also just made a sincere effort to get my name out there at conferences and such with faculty. I also skype interviewed several PIs at my top schools before applying. 

YouTube would be fun, lol. I am just really grateful to have the opportunities I do and have the stellar mentors I have. 

[Scrappyhappy]

15 minutes ago, lencarn said:

My stats were mediocre to be honest. I have a decent GPA but I did get B+ in some critical science courses and my GRE was not competitive (although I only sent it to Caltech and MIT)

At the end of the day what stood out can only be determined by the committee, but I would say it was my research experience that would have stood out and I think I effectively conveyed my passion for science through my PS. For the schools I cared most about, I also just made a sincere effort to get my name out there at conferences and such with faculty. I also skype interviewed several PIs at my top schools before applying. 

YouTube would be fun, lol. I am just really grateful to have the opportunities I do and have the stellar mentors I have. 

That's inspiring, and so helpful to be reminded to have gratitude throughout this process! Congrats on the interviews.  What is your research interest?

Edited December 23, 2019 by Scrappyhappy

[gaultiero]

1 hour ago, Zoeyg said:

I think NYU has a second batch on January.

Is this for neuro, and how did you find out? Haven't heard anything for NYU neural science

[Scrappyhappy]

7 minutes ago, gaultiero said:

Is this for neuro, and how did you find out? Haven't heard anything for NYU neural science

The "Joint Admissions Committee" sent the invite, so I would guess that invites to both programs have been sent out - especially because for admissions, they operate as one program

[Zoeyg]

16 minutes ago, gaultiero said:

Is this for neuro, and how did you find out? Haven't heard anything for NYU neural science

I have a good friend got NYU Sackler interview invitation in January last year(I mean January 2019), so don't stressed out! We still have hope. We need to comfort each other to stay optimistic through this crazy waiting period.

Best of luck!

Edited December 23, 2019 by Zoeyg

[AdamSugi]

1 hour ago, lencarn said:

My stats were mediocre to be honest. I have a decent GPA but I did get B+ in some critical science courses and my GRE was not competitive (although I only sent it to Caltech and MIT)

At the end of the day what stood out can only be determined by the committee, but I would say it was my research experience that would have stood out and I think I effectively conveyed my passion for science through my PS. For the schools I cared most about, I also just made a sincere effort to get my name out there at conferences and such with faculty. I also skype interviewed several PIs at my top schools before applying. 

YouTube would be fun, lol. I am just really grateful to have the opportunities I do and have the stellar mentors I have. 

Nice, I think you did it the right way. I think being able to show maturity and passion are the most important part, and having a research experience that enhance it makes you a great candidate. Also, I didnt applied to many schools this year because I couldnt reach out many PIs. As an international student, if it is not crucial, it is very helpful.

[pinkmug]

For the ones that applied and did not receive an interview invite from Harvard: did the status on your application chang already? 

Edited December 23, 2019 by pinkmug