Advice requested for a unique situation

[Abrlax16]

Hello all,

Please excuse the long post and thanks in advance to all who take the time to read it and respond.

I'm planning on applying to cognitive/neuroscience based psych programs this year at the following schools: Duke, Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Upenn, Harvard, WashU, Hopkins, Cal, Stanford, UNC-Chapel Hill, Yale, Brown, and Tufts.

Stats:

GPA: 3.5 from degree-granting school; 3.3 when classes taken outside of my degree-granting school are included

GRE: Taking this month

Relevant experience: I've worked for more than 4 years as a lab manager and research assistant in a brain stimulation neuroscience and psychiatry lab at one of the top universities mentioned above. I have coordinated more than 15 clinical and neuroscience studies during this time (i.e. extensive hands-on experience). I essentially know how to setup and run a lab - from grant submissions to employee training, regulatory adherence to running experiments. I am certified to conduct a wide range of neuropsychological tests, have extensive MRI/fMRI experience, I'm certified to perform transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) procedures (in addition to operate a robot guidance system which is the first of its kind in the world). From my initial work (which was mostly clinically focused and took long periods of time to finish) I was able to get my name on two publications and a few poster presentations. Over the last year and a half, I have transitioned into running cognitive neuroscience studies that use TMS to investigate visual decision-making, working memory, visual search and cognitive reserve. Although perhaps only one of these projects will be ready to publish in some form before applications are due, I will be included in all future publications for these projects (and my PI is willing to indicate this in my LOR).

In addition to my experience as lab manager, I also have leadership experience as the co-director of a nonprofit organization that provides medical care and funding for infrastructure in Africa. I have volunteered directly with this organization (spent 2 weeks in the field in Zambia) and an NYC-based inner-city mentoring group (in addition to other community-based volunteering).

I will have letters of recommendation from my current PI, who is the director of a research division at one of the schools mentioned above, as well as the chair of the department of psychiatry at the same school, and a letter from a PI with whom I worked in the past on clinical studies.

One of my top choices is the school where I, my PI, and my department chair work (I mention this only as a potentially unique strength).

I know my GPA is on the weak side, especially for programs which require that I submit all grades from every school attended. Here's where the requested advice comes in: the reason I have gone to multiple schools is because I sustained a traumatic brain injury freshman year. I had very serious cognitive issues for about a year and half after the incident, which made school very difficult. However, I was able to finish my freshman year - despite the injury - with a 3.29GPA. Given the issues I was dealing with, I took the following fall semester off with the idea that I would transfer to a school closer to home that spring. In the meantime, I registered for 4 basic requirements at the local community college so that I could begin in the spring taking core courses for my major. I was told that the grades for the CC classes would not transfer; I only needed a C or better for the credit. Given the difficult issues I was dealing with from my injury, I simply did the best I could, got the C's for credit, and stopped attending the classes so I could focus on getting better. This has of course come back to bite me now that I have to factor four community college C's into my overall GPA. That said, my GPA has a sharp upward trend which correlates with my recovery from the injury (I finished my last year of college with a 3.8 each semester).

My basic question is: will ADCOMS respond to my story and understand my subpar GPA within this context? Will the strengths of my application even get a chance at evaluation or will my GPA get me thrown out right off the bat? I realize these are impossible questions to answer in a speculative fashion (especially without my GRE score), but I'm curious to hear some thoughts and would love to hear from anyone else who has a unique narrative of this kind.

Thanks!

[cherubie]

I don't think that telling adcoms that you did enough to get a C at a community college and then stopped attending classes due to TBI is a very good idea. That really sounds like a terrible excuse rather than a reason. Why did you even take classes if you needed to recover so badly? IF you were not in the hospital every day while you were taking classes (obviously an extreme situation), why couldn't you have at least made a B...in community college courses? Finally, why is it that you were told they won't transfer, and now they are? And if they were not going to transfer, why'd you take them?

As you can see, all these questions are against your favor no matter how you answer them.

If I were you, I would briefly mention the TBI (i.e. in a sentence or two) and then say how you learned from it. Don't make it into a sob story, or a pity tale. Your grades are fine as they are. It's a 3.5 vs. 3.3, really, I don't think it makes that big of a difference either way. You obviously seem to know that you're an excellent applicant or else you wouldn't apply to the schools you listed. Furthermore, you also seem to know that you have awesome clinical/research experience. There's nothing you can do to change your freshman year now, so just relax and go on with your application.

With that said, maybe you should have some backup schools on your list, since I'm sure anyone applying to Harvard/Yale/etc. will be very competitive as well.

Edited August 31, 2012 by cherubie

[lewin]

"Why couldn't you have at least made a B" would be a pretty harsh judgement for them to make. A straightforward statement can explain things without being a sob story, e.g.,"I experienced a severe health incident in 200X that has since been resolved but it detrimentally affected my grades at college X. After my recovery I attended university Y and my grades there are more reflective of my academic performance."

Or you could just leave it. Your GPA seems decent, they'll see the improvement, and your other experience is outstanding.

[Abrlax16]

Thank you for the comments, I really appreciate it.

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

Honestly, I'd have one of my LOR's address it, rather than address it in my SOP.

[psychdork]

Honestly, I'd have one of my LOR's address it, rather than address it in my SOP.

I agree. I actually had one of my LOR's address an issue in my background because every time I tried to explain it, it just sounded like I was making an excuse. As an observer, he was able to state what had happened and point out how I overcame it, without making it sound like an excuse. If you can find a way to mention your TBI in your SOP like lewin00 said then go for it, otherwise see if one of your LORs will address it.

[3point14]

I also agree with Quant_Liz_Lemonn and psychdork. This is the same advice I've heard from several undergrad advisers.

[stereopticons]

Some applications also ask for an additional statement describing any hardships you've overcome. I know Michigan and UC Berkeley, at least, ask for that. You could describe your experience with the TBI in that.

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

UCLA has something similar with a essay on diversity. Still... I know that I'm going to avoid the subject alltogether. By addressing it in an essay, you're drawing more attention to it. According to one of my LORs, adcoms like to hear that whatever it was is over and won't have any impact on your performance as a graduate student.