Second tier neuroscience phd programs?

[kkc]

I've been told to apply to a number of 2nd tier schools but the question is....which schools fall into this rank? 

[gliaful]

Were you told to do this because you've limited your applications to top tier schools? If so, the suggestion was probably meant for you to either 1) increase your likelihood of an acceptance, or 2) look more closely at your research interests and find schools that specifically match those. The second point arises from an assumption that students who only apply to top tier schools are more interested in prestige than finding schools that share their specific interests.

 

If you're looking for cold, hard ratings, you can look at this link (below). It's from Sept 2010, so although it may not be completely accurate, it's likely an approximate reference. When using this tool, notice how there are various ranking criteria. This should indicate to you that "top tier" is a vague notion, and that the many components of a graduate education are stronger in some schools than in others. When I used this tool, I sorted schools by "S-rank" and "Students", because I wanted well-rounded programs with happy students. Then, I looked at those programs and tried to identify labs that I found interesting. If I couldn't identify 5-10 labs that I liked, I moved on. It's not all about rankings -- it's about fit. You'll hear that a lot.

 

Here's that list: http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124747/

 

If you would like to look at schools in a particular region or state, you can check out Peterson's:

http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx

 

Peterson's has the advantage of being up-to-date (all admissions statistics/contacts are from the Fall 2014 season), although it doesn't rank the schools. I used Peterson's in conjunction with school-searching to get a quick snapshot of the program's research interests, admissions stats, if the school used rolling admissions, etc. 

 

Ultimately, I applied to schools that had cool research AND seemed to be in areas where I wouldn't mind living. Everyone has their own personal criteria in this respect.

[Asimio]

By labs that you find interesting, what do you mean exactly? I am assuming you read up on faculty and their publications.

Is that the case or are there more better ways of finding out if a program is a good fit for you?

 

[Vene]

By labs that you find interesting, what do you mean exactly? I am assuming you read up on faculty and their publications.

Is that the case or are there more better ways of finding out if a program is a good fit for you?

 

Pretty much, you look to see what topics people are working on and think about what you want to research. Then you find universities where there are several faculty members doing something of interest and apply to those programs.

[Asimio]

Got it, thanks.

I've been reading threads off this forum for the last two days and I've noticed the same university names over and over again. During my initial run through I went through lots of programs by means of their websites, not really looking into faculty much and they all seemed really cool. But coming to specifics, most people in neurosciences seem to only apply to a certain list of top universities. 

Why is that? There are SO many neuroscience programs, surely there are good fits to be found otherwise. Or is it just that this site usually has only top students posting?

[NeuroMetro]

On 11/17/2014 at 10:10 PM, pasteltomato said:

If you're looking for cold, hard ratings, you can look at this link (below). 

 

Great post @pasteltomato. Though as arbitrary as these rankings may be, it still itches at me that my top choice (hopefully future school) is usually rated lower. Actually, much lower than another program at the same state university, different city, and after visits I can't figure out why. Just weird.
 

On 1/23/2015 at 0:53 AM, Asimio said:

Why is that? There are SO many neuroscience programs, surely there are good fits to be found otherwise. Or is it just that this site usually has only top students posting?

@Asimio My point above speaks to the fact that there certainly are good-fits to be found outside the standards. I think in many cases you see the same names just because there are always a few top-rated in everyone's portfolio of apps with somewhat less regard to fit, along with the less common unique-to-applicant-fit schools. Though commonly seeing the same ones is hard not to notice.