2023 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admissions Results

[neurobrainiac]

On 9/5/2022 at 4:59 AM, Meme team said:

Hello, new here and also super nervous!

Degree- Bachelors with Honors in Communication Sciences and Disorders (3.58gpa from a school in Missouri) , Non-Clinical Masters in the Study of Communication (3.487gpa from a top 20 school)

Research- 2 independent studies (one in undergrad and one in my Masters program), and a research internship as a McNair Scholar

Publications- My undergrad had a McNair Research Journal and I have presented at several conferences over the course of the pandemic on chemobrain

Extracurriculars- McNair Scholar, Peer mentor

GRE- None of the schools I want to go to need it

Awards- MVP scholar

LORs- Prior research mentor, Director of the McNair Scholars Program from my undergrad, Director of my Masters program

What schools should I apply to????

Where did you apply?

 

[Meme team]

51 minutes ago, neurobrainiac said:

Where did you apply?

 

I applied to BU, NYU, Northwestern, UChicago, Yale, Harvard, MIT, John Hopkins 

[StrawberryCupcake]

Just got a formal interview invitation from Princeton (cognitive psychology, not neuroscience)! Very excited! The interview will be in-person, but you can also choose to attend virtually without any impact on your admission. Good luck to everyone!

[glassgoldenfish]

7 hours ago, StrawberryCupcake said:

Just got a formal interview invitation from Princeton (cognitive psychology, not neuroscience)! Very excited! The interview will be in-person, but you can also choose to attend virtually without any impact on your admission. Good luck to everyone!

Huge congrats and good luck with your interview!?

[nm_ml]

This morning, I received an invite for an initial virtual interview with the PI I'm interested in working with at UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit!

[neurobrainiac]

I recieved word that UT Austin has their first round interview list together and will be released shortly. Good luck! 

[Mustang_97]

Did anyone hear back from Neuro PhD at Univ of Maryland SOM?

[Neuro99]

Does anyone know when CMU PSN usually starts sending out interview invites? 

[da.neuro]

10 hours ago, Mustang_97 said:

Did anyone hear back from Neuro PhD at Univ of Maryland SOM?

I got an interview invitation from them yesterday

[zuvi93]

So quiet this year! Anyone heard from Harvard, MIT, Mount Sinai, Columbia? 

[Neurolucida]

3 hours ago, zuvi93 said:

So quiet this year! Anyone heard from Harvard, MIT, Mount Sinai, Columbia? 

Unfortunately looks like someone received an invite from PiN this morning

[Hallie_Parker]

Any word on Emory neuro?

[nm_ml]

Does Harvard PiN only send out one round of invites?

[Neurolucida]

28 minutes ago, nm_ml said:

Does Harvard PiN only send out one round of invites?

I've been told that they send out invites throughout the day, but it never extends beyond that same day.

Sounds like no invite tonight = rejection

[nm_ml]

1 minute ago, Neurolucida said:

I've been told that they send out invites throughout the day, but it never extends beyond that same day.

Sounds like no invite tonight = rejection

Ah, oh well, thank you!

[nm_ml]

3 minutes ago, minimini said:

I have a similar question!

Does MIT BCS give out only one round of interviews, too? (Like what I assume Harvard PiN does, when reading the comments above?)

I didn't get an invitation to both MIT BCS and Harvard PiN so I'm probably rejected? Haha well.. I should be looking forward to other schools then!

I'm wondering this as well. From what I can see, posts regarding BCS seemed to be cell/molecular, so I'm holding out some hope. Good luck to you!

[holmosaint]

Get the interview to the northwestern NUIN program an hour ago!

[holmosaint]

1 hour ago, nm_ml said:

I'm wondering this as well. From what I can see, posts regarding BCS seemed to be cell/molecular, so I'm holding out some hope. Good luck to you!

where did you see the posts though? I only saw one actually

[StrawberryCupcake]

For those received invites from MIT BCS, did you all get an informal interview beforehand?

[lowestprime]

Hey, figured my exp might be of value to someone. I know it's long.

Applied for the first time in 2020, a year after completing undergrad at UCSD. Interviewed at UCSF but was ultimately rejected along with many other interviewees (at UCSF at least, being interviewed during COVID was by no means a formality, in fact, most of the interviewees were unfortunately rejected). Was also rejected from UCLA and UCSD.

For Fa23, I applied to 10 progs: UCSF, Harvard, UCLA, Stanford genetics+neuro, UCSD, Mt. Sinai, UCB, UCD genetics+neuro. Rejected from UCSF, Harvard and UCLA so far. Still hoping for an interview invite from UCD, UCSD, Mt. Sinai and/or Stanford, but already planning to apply to industry positions for the next two years if things don't work out.

Few lessons/thoughts from my second cycle so far:

1. I didn't email PIs or students in labs of interest this year. But, last time I did and was able to meet with 2 UCSF professors on zoom a month before the submission deadline. One happened to be on the admissions committee that year. While emailing/meeting PIs/students is not required or supposed to make a difference in your interview/acceptance chances, but I still credit it as the reason I was interviewed with so little exp and qualifications at the time. I think this is an underrated step, at least for schools without undergrad progs, because the professors are less busy teaching and tend to have more free time to meet prospective applicants.
2. Make your SoP shooooorter, especially for programs with longer word/character limits. Please. It will boost your chances. Even if you have a lot to cover, be as selective as possible, only highlighting the most important stuff. Just because you are 100-300 words under the limit, doesn't mean it's short enough. Concision is a sign of maturity, confidence, respect for the reader and good writing generally. My SoPs were longer this time as I had more to cover, but looking back at them, despite over a month of editing, I still feel the same things could have been communicated more succinctly (maybe shaving off ~200-500 more words).
3. My PI who regularly serves on the UCSF BMS admissions committee (similarly low acct rate to neuro), said that reviewers use LoRs as a screener and read them before anything else. If they identify any red flags/kisses of death, or more often, if they don't see certain desirable graduate student characteristics mentioned (e.g. independence/initiative/drive, persistence, creativity/troubleshooting, critical thinking skills, talent in specific areas etc), they often rank the application much lower and barely consider the rest of the app. I assume it is a similar process for UCSF neuro at least.
4. After working at UCSF for 1.5yrs, 3 more relevant pubs from my lab, and connecting with several faculty, students, fellow applicants, I was immediately rejected without virtual interview this second app cycle. Previously interviewing for the program (under strange circumstances at that) and working for the same uni full time for over 1.5 yrs did not help at all. VET PIs first before accepting postbac research jobs, their rep doesn't matter as much if they are an ambivalent mentor. Try to find a mentor who communicates well and is available and invested in your success as the top priority. Only the methods and field of the lab need to match your interests/field of intended grad program, the rest is less important. I know you can't take admissions results from top programs personally and no one is entitled to an interview, but it was rough receiving the rejection despite preparing for two more years. It feels like a step back for sure. It also makes me realize how much more competitive neurograd admissions are becoming. The new two part interview structure for UCSF Neuro this year was quite surprising, maybe it's just a hybrid approach inspired by covid, but I can't help but think they are going for the multi-interview structure of medical school applications.
5. My UCSF PI mentioned something when I was first hired that I was too stubborn to take seriously. They stressed that the specific grad program you join at a given university doesn't matter much, as long as it is somewhat related to your research interests/career goals and you can still find a good mentor. Usually, you can still take most of the same classes and rotate in/join the same labs etc. So why would someone choose to apply to the much lower acceptance rate, supersaturated and smaller class size neuro programs, risking consecutive rejections or never being interviewed at all, just for the "neuro" description on their PhD degree? If a university only allows a single program application per cycle, I will always choose the prog with the highest acceptance rate (e.g. genetics, bioinformatics, Tetrad, PSPG and other less popular programs) that overlaps with my research interests (neurobio/genomics/molecular psychiatry) moving forward. In my case at least, there is zero reason to risk waiting 2 or more years just for the "Neuro" label. Does anyone else feel this way, especially multicycle applicants?
   
   TL;DR: take NOTHING for granted. Consider applying to higher acct rate progs at the same schools instead of Neuro, where you can still pursue your interests and prepare to achieve your long term goals.
   
   Sorry for being so pessimistic, happy to answer any other q's abt my first cycle or in general. 
   
   Good luck to everyone this cycle, I know it has been rough for a lot of folks. This is probably one of the most competitive application cycles yet. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by lowestprime

[astra]

Hi everyone! I'm in my last year of undergrad and feeling super nervous. I didn't decide until just earlier this year that I wanted to apply to graduate school, and I'm anxious because I feel like so many people have prepared for this for years so all I can do is hope for the best at this point!

I've applied to the following schools, and I'm happy to share any updates I receive (and would also be grateful to hear if anyone has received updates as well):

• Caltech (Neurobiology)
• Columbia
• Harvard-MIT HST (Neuroimaging Track)
• NYU
• Stanford
• UCLA
• UCSD
• USC

Best of luck to everyone (and also good luck on finals!).

Edited December 18, 2022 by astra

[meonha158]

Hello everyone, I just finish my undergraduate program in Biomedical Engineering. I am applying to PhD into these universities. If anyone have shared information about interview results date or any news, I would be grateful to discuss about it.

Here are the list of universities that I have applied:

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Neuroscience

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Neuroscience

University of California, Berkeley (UCB) - Neuroscience

Johns Hopkins University - Neuroscience

Stanford University - Neuroscience

University of Pennsylvania - Neuroscience

Cornell University - Biomedical Engineering

Purdue University - Biomedical Engineering

 

[biobabe]

Received an interview invite virtually for Mayo Clinic BMB program. Mid Jan. Have not heard anything else yet from other schools which is stressful. Has anyone applied to the University of Iowa Neuro or heard anything elsewhere about interview invites? 

[jamesp14]

Does everyone have a tab called "interview" where you can select an interview date under their application portal for Columbia neurobiology & behavior?

 

I haven't received any confirmation yet, but curious if everyone has the option to select an interview date.

[ManifoldsAreMadeUp]

17 hours ago, lowestprime said:

My UCSF PI mentioned something when I was first hired that I was too stubborn to take seriously. They stressed that the specific grad program you join at a given university doesn't matter much, as long as it is somewhat related to your research interests/career goals and you can still find a good mentor. Usually, you can still take most of the same classes and rotate in/join the same labs etc. So why would someone choose to apply to the much lower acceptance rate, supersaturated and smaller class size neuro programs, risking consecutive rejections or never being interviewed at all, just for the "neuro" description on their PhD degree? If a university only allows a single program application per cycle, I will always choose the prog with the highest acceptance rate (e.g. genetics, bioinformatics, Tetrad, PSPG and other less popular programs) that overlaps with my research interests (neurobio/genomics/molecular psychiatry) moving forward. In my case at least, there is zero reason to risk waiting 2 or more years just for the "Neuro" label. Does anyone else feel this way, especially multicycle applicants?

I AGREE AND CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS!!!! Having neuro on your PhD almost does not even matter as it's all about who you work with and the work you publish. You can still work in the same neuro labs whether you're psych, neuro, engineering, bio, etc etc the PI just has to affiliate with the given department which is just signing a few forms for them (and most of the time they're already affiliated). Neuro programs are starting to hit admit rates of 1-2% for top programs but at those same schools you will find other engineering/life sciences programs at 15-30%! Even at places like Harvard (compare PiN to SHBT) or BU (GPN has 3% admit rates while A&N has 19%). It makes almost zero sense to apply for pure neuroscience anymore unless you know you're one of the top applicants. 

Edited December 18, 2022 by ManifoldsAreMadeUp