Curious about my chances of getting into Neuroscience PhD programs

[Max F.]

Hey all,

I'm a senior USC (that's California, not Carolina) double-majoring in Neuroscience in Philosophy. I'm interested in applying to PhD programs in Neuroscience, or something related (eg. Computational or Systems Neuroscience), for Fall 2012, but I'm not sure how competitive my application might be. Namely, since I started out as a Music Business major, then switched to Business, then to Philosophy, and then added Neuro, I haven't had years of experience in a lab or received many pretty-looking designations. However, I do have a job at a Neuro lab this semester, and I've been awarded a HASTAC fellowship (from Duke), so I'm at least making a bit of progress. I also spent a year as a research assistant to a humanities professor who's been fairly successful in positioning a new academic discipline. On the downside, and of most concern to me, is my 3.35 GPA.

All that said, I'm curious to know what my odds look like for getting into top-tier and mid-level Neuroscience programs. I'm really just curious whether prestigious programs ever give opportunities to students like me, or if they reserve all their graduate spots for 3.9+ GPA students who've accumulated 4 years of research experience and awards as an undergraduate.

I haven't yet taken the GRE (I'll do so this summer if I decide to move forward on graduate school) but I did get a 2100 SAT and 30 ACT if that's any indication of my standardized testing ability.

[hovikstad]

It's good to see a fellow Trojan on here. I'm currently in the application process myself (waiting to hear back from schools) so I’ll share what little insight I’ve acquired. I applied to both Clinical Psych and biopsych/neuroscience PhDs. A solid GRE score can help with a "low" GPA, but unfortunately admissions policies vary so much between schools, it's difficult to generalize. The good news is that GRE scores tend to reflect SAT/ACT scores, which should be a little confidence boost for you. Although I was definitely an outlier (my GREs were not pleasant), if you dedicate the time to study hard and take your preparation seriously, you'll do fine. I definitely recommend taking the GREs as soon after undergrad as possible. I worked in a neuroscience/clinical trial research lab after undergrad, but I took the GREs a few months after graduation so my test-taking skills wouldn’t get rusty.

If you have the opportunity to work in research fulltime before grad school, I’d definitely recommend it. Not only can it improve your chances of acceptance, but for me, it also helped to narrow and refine my scope of interests. Also, my experiences in the lab have been invaluable in the application process. I learned so much about the field that you really can’t learn in undergrad, and having my coworkers around for advice/guidance with the application process has been enormously helpful.

One thing I would recommend is that you apply to as many schools as humanly possible. I applied to 8 thinking it was a good assortment of programs (some reach schools, a few "safety"), but I'm starting to get nervous since I haven't heard back from any of them.

Good luck and stay optimistic.

Edited February 3, 2011 by hovikstad