Jump to content

Applying for Neuroscience/Neurobiology Ph.D. programs for Fall 2015


Recommended Posts

Posted

Anyone else out there going to be in Denver tomorrow? I get in about 2:30. Looking forward to it!

Posted

Anyone else out there going to be in Denver tomorrow? I get in about 2:30. Looking forward to it!

I'll see you there -- I fly in at 4pm. I'm so excited!

Posted

About UW-

I actually inquired about their program this time last year. They told me they get about 900 applications every year, and they are lucky if they can even get through half of them. They were pretty curt with me, telling me they know of students who have published in Neuron and been rejected from their program. The additional response I got was "Seattle is a desirable place to live, attracting many people form all over the world, therefore we have to be incredibly selective and can't possibly get through all the applications".

 

My Spouse and I considered moving there for postdoctoral opportunities and the students I met hated the program and were very unhappy with their projects/mentorship. They LOVED the area but hated going to work. We knew faculty members who had gone there for postdoctoral opportunities and felt the same.

 

BTW- not sure if you know this but University of Wisconsin poached a lot of UW's faculty, 4 of them have moved there in the past 4 years and they just keep poaching. So you can always apply to UW. 

 

PM me about your Utah interviews, I was there for 5 -6years and my spouse graduated from that program.

Good luck!

 

I remember seeing this while applying and being very worried about my own UW application. Just wrapped up an interview here and I wanted to reassure future applicants. I'm not sure where the 900 number came from. The neuroscience program received over 300 applications (can't remember the exact number but I heard this from a professor on the committee). 

Also didn't talk to a single professor who didn't love going to work.

Posted

Just got an email from Pitt (through GATS) saying that they should some have information by the end of next week, yikes! Also noticed a small typo in the message I had sent them, such an idiot :blink:

Posted

Hi Guys, looking at the results page and what people have posted in this thread, I see that people are getting invite and rejections from a lot of programs that I applied for, while I haven't heard anything from those programs. How likely is it that for people in my situation to be placed on a wait list? 

Posted

Hi Guys, looking at the results page and what people have posted in this thread, I see that people are getting invite and rejections from a lot of programs that I applied for, while I haven't heard anything from those programs. How likely is it that for people in my situation to be placed on a wait list? 

 

If the school does interviews then you are added to waitlist after your interview, depending on how things went. Otherwise its probably a rejection.

 

^ I'm of the same opinion as kimmibeans :\, but if anyone knows differently, feel free to correct me

Posted

Looks like some people have already been accepted to Northwestern. If they're checking this thread, may I ask what interview weekend you went to?

Posted

Looks like some people have already been accepted to Northwestern. If they're checking this thread, may I ask what interview weekend you went to?

 

I interviewed at Northwestern during their first session (1/15-1/16) and haven't heard anything. I think they admit their "top picks" the week after each interview session, and will save making a decision about the rest until they have finished all the interviews (last session is this weekend). 

Posted

Undergrad Institution: Liberal Arts University that isn't very well known nationally.

Major(s): Psychology & Animal Behaviour

Minor(s): Biology

GPA in Major: Not sure, we usually don't have that calculated.

Overall GPA: 3.52

Position in Class: I got inducted into Psi Chi last semester so at least top 35%

Type of Student: Female US citizen applying to mostly Canadian schools

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 161

V: 156

W: 3.0 (I really don't understand what happened here)

B: Not taking

Research Experience: Oh, boy. This one is always tricky because the university doesn't have "labs" that I can join.

I did an independent biology research project that lasted about 7 months. Preparing a manuscript (1st author out of three). Did two conference talks on this project (single author; one was a regional conference and the other was a university-wise conference)

Was an undergraduate research assistant for a probability learning project, but we only got preliminary results. We presented a poster at a state-wide conference (2nd author out of four).

Presented a poster at a Canadian national conference on a research course project (single author). This ended up being our research seminar for psychology project. Good results so far. I see myself being 1st or 2nd author on a manuscript.

Led my own small project at U of T last summer. I probably won't know until next semester if the results are publishable.

A research project in my behavioral ecology class might end up as a manuscript (1st author, maybe).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Tri-Beta member, Psi Chi member, Dean's list, received a Tri-Beta research grant based on my proposal for my independent biology project

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Head rat caretaker at my university. Used to be a general biology lab assistant.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I can't think of anything else...

Special Bonus Points: The PI that I volunteered for this summer is my POI for my top choice school.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I had a poor first year due to adjustment problems. However, my grades shot up in second year and third year.

Applying to Where:

 

University of Toronto (top choice) - Psychology and Cells and Systems Biology (Collaborative program in Neuroscience)

 

University of Waterloo - Health Systems

 

University of British Columbia - Animal Welfare

 

I have an interesting list of schools, but I'm applying more for the lab than the program. My main research interest is behavioural epigenetics/maternal care and its implications in animal welfare.

 

If your cycle doesn't end up working out this year (here's hoping it does!!! :) :) ) you might consider applying to UC Davis neuroscience or animal behaviour program. There is a PI there (Danielle Stolzenberg) who is working with behavioral epigenetics and maternal behavior (I know this because I interviewed there last weekend and met her).

 

All the best! :D

Posted

Has anyone heard anything about the UIC neuroscience program, or been invited for an interview?

Not sure if anyone has replied to you, UIC Neuro had an interview weekend Jan 29. I was unable to attend and asked to reschedule, but haven't heard back...

 

Hope it works out for you!!

Posted

Anyone applying to Boston University's Graduate Program for Neuroscience (GPN)? I can't seem to find any other fellow applicants :)

 

I am. Any idea, when we would hear from them? I am also waiting to hear from -

 

1. CMU - CNBC

2. USC - comp neuro

3. UChicago - comp neuro

 

Let me know.

Posted

I am. Any idea, when we would hear from them? I am also waiting to hear from -

 

1. CMU - CNBC

2. USC - comp neuro

3. UChicago - comp neuro

 

Let me know.

 

I'm waiting to hear from BU GPN, as well. A few people posted a while back (the last week of January) in the results that they received interview invites, but I haven't heard/seen anything from anyone since. Their interview dates are Mar 2nd/3rd, as far as I know, so if they are extending invites I would assume it would be soon. I've seen a lot of results from Boston, just not GPN but other programs, so I'm hopeful that we'll hear something in the next week or so.

 

If anyone knows any different, that would be awesome to hear.

Guest InConcert319
Posted

I am. Any idea, when we would hear from them? I am also waiting to hear from -

 

1. CMU - CNBC

2. USC - comp neuro

3. UChicago - comp neuro

 

Let me know.

I applied to CMU- CNBC as an add on to the CMU Psychology graduate department.  I haven't heard anything either :(

 

I posted this in the Psych Clarifications thread as well. 

 

Has anyone heard from CUNY's Psychology department?  Specifically, the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience track?  I saw one post on the results page for an interview...

 

Also, any insight on the following would help!

- Tufts Psychology PhD (Cognitive Science & Psychology Joint program)

- Univ. of Maryland College Park Psychology PhD (Cognitive and Neural Systems)

 

I also appied to NYU.  Specifically, their Cognition and Perception program.  Saw a few results and know that they are having an interview weekend soon.  Should I assume that this is a no longer a viable option?

 

In general,  I applied to cognitive neuroscience or behavioral neuroscience tracks under psychology departments.  I have a couple of programs that are only Neuroscience with a behavioral track.  Total applications were around 14 but so far, have only heard from 3.  Due to time, I wasn't able to reach out to POIs prior to applying and now am wondering if I really let my chances slip....

 

Did anyone else not contact POIs prior?  Of course, the danger is not knowing if they are accepting students but I usually listed 3-5 faculty I was interested in....hoping someone else has had success.....

Guest InConcert319
Posted

Also, at this point, I am going back and forth with contacting one or two POIs that I have selected but don't know if that would be viewed badly....if anyone has any advice, specifically, actually did this themselves and have either a good or bad experience, I would appreciate the guidance!

Posted

Does anyone know if Princeton, Brown and UPenn are still sending out invitation? I emailed their adcom chair about two weeks ago, and neither of them replied back to me :(

Posted

I heard back from CMU in January-

 

Carnegie Mellon, right??

 

interview dates Feb. 4-7 and Feb 18-21

 

I wasn't invited to UW's interview dates, but I'm afraid to call and ask about my application status. I'm super late to gradcafe, I just made my account today because I went to find UW's interview dates (to be sure I missed them or not) and they already have the site ready for next year. :(

 

Anyone heard back from U Chicago yet?

Guest InConcert319
Posted

I heard back from CMU in January-

 

Carnegie Mellon, right??

 

interview dates Feb. 4-7 and Feb 18-21

 

I wasn't invited to UW's interview dates, but I'm afraid to call and ask about my application status. I'm super late to gradcafe, I just made my account today because I went to find UW's interview dates (to be sure I missed them or not) and they already have the site ready for next year. :(

 

Anyone heard back from U Chicago yet?

 

Yes! Carnegie Mellon...are the dates you mentioned for the CNBC doctoral program?  I'm sorry I wasn't very clear in my initial post.  I'm wondering about CMU's Psychology PhD program.  I applied emphasizing cognitive neuroscience and also, applied to their CNBC training program...

Posted

Yes! Carnegie Mellon...are the dates you mentioned for the CNBC doctoral program?  I'm sorry I wasn't very clear in my initial post.  I'm wondering about CMU's Psychology PhD program.  I applied emphasizing cognitive neuroscience and also, applied to their CNBC training program...

 

Sorry, I was referring to the CMU PhD in Biological Sciences. Good luck with CNBC

Posted

Anybody hear from Vermont?

I'm 90% certain that NGP is done with interviews. I know 100% that CMB is done with interviews on the off chance you applied there.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use