Neuroscience PhD - which schools to apply to?

[lmnels22]

Hi everyone, I'm planning on applying to neuroscience PhD programs for Fall 2016 and I'd love some frank feedback on which, if any, programs would be good choices to apply to.

 

GPA: 3.70

GRE: not yet taken

Research: I worked for two semesters in a faculty member's lab, but I'm concerned that he may not have credibility and I won't be able to answer any questions about the research because I literally never spoke with him.

Other: Dean's list, Honors student

[ilovelab]

What do you want to study in the field of neuroscience? You need to answer that before anyone can help you. Honestly its not that hard. Figure out what you are interested in and then do a pubmed search. Find the PI on the paper and look what school they are affiliated with. Then browse through the schools grad program and see if it fits your research interest.

[eeee1923]

Honestly its not that hard. Figure out what you are interested in and then do a pubmed search. Find the PI on the paper and look what school they are affiliated with. Then browse through the schools grad program and see if it fits your research interest.

 

True.

 

Also I would suggest that you get more research experience, neuroscience is notoriously quite competitive (not to say that other branches of the biomedical sciences are not but just saying). This means summer research and continuing research into your senior year. 

[lmnels22]

Yeah, I understand it's competitive. I know I want to go into cognitive neuroscience but I can't be more specific than that at the moment. Obviously researching the faculty of any school to find a good fit is important, but I was more just hoping to get a general idea of what neuroscience programs I might have a chance at getting into that would give me good bang-for-buck. If that's not kosher on these forums I apologize.

[eeee1923]

We could list programs but not all programs are the 'same'. What I mean is - are you interested in large programs? small programs? well funded individual programs? umbrella programs? big city? small city? east coast? midwest? the south? the west coast? Basically there are a lot of programs out there and you're not giving a lot for us to go on. There are good neuroscience programs in the south such as UT Southwestern or on the west coast such as UCSF or in the east such as Harvard and Cornell. 

[lmnels22]

I assume I don't stand a chance of getting into Harvard, Cornell, or UCSF. My preference would be a city for transportation purposes, beyond that I really don't have any firm preferences. I like places with hippieish vibes so I'll probably apply to UTexas at Austin. Maybe somewhere like UT Southwestern or Georgetown might be a better choice for a reach school, and then for my other schools, places like Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago, U Arizona, NYU, etc. Do you think I stand a chance of getting into any of those places? Again I know that's sort of an impossible question to answer, but I really appreciate your help.

[eeee1923]

With your GPA and if you do well on your GRE you can actually get into plenty of great programs. It comes down to how you present yourself in your SoP and "research fit". Research fit is kind of esoteric but it basically comes down to whether or not you would make a good fit at the program: get along with your cohort, do 'good' science and contribute to the field, etc. 

 

For now I would suggest that you begin reading into the programs you listed above. Visit the research portals of several PI's at each school and go on PubMed and read some of their articles. This will give you a better idea of the research going on there and if you could seriously see yourself attending that program. My advice is to never apply to a program that you could not see yourself attending (due to research fit, location, department environment, etc) even if it's a fancy name since a PhD is 4-6 years of your life and a 'big' name quickly loses it's appeal if your are a miserable student. 

[lxwllms]

I'm a neuroscience applicant for Fall 2015, and I agree with the advice you've already been given. Additionally I would like to say -- don't sell yourself short. You have some good stats. Mine were somewhat lower than yours, in terms of GPA, and I interviewed and was accepted at some great universities. If you want to talk "name schools" I was interviewed/accepted to an Ivy Neuroscience program (I almost didn't apply because I thought I wasn't good enough). My point is, don't purposely avoid "name" schools for fear of rejection. In doing so you're ultimately rejecting yourself.

 

Just make sure you do well on your GRE, continue with research through your senior year (potentially do a senior/honors thesis?) like eteshoe has already said, and apply to programs that have a good "fit". That will become more clear as you continue through the application process. If you have any specific questions that you think I might be able to answer, feel free to PM me.

Edited May 20, 2015 by lxwllms

[_kita]

As others have pointed out, your GPA is fine for many strong programs. The research experience will help, but won't make you a shoo in. In neuroscience research experience is pretty much an assumed credential on your application. So unless the research is exemplary (first author, presentations, etc), you make the credentials for many schools (really anything that's not tippy-top tier).

To make yourself stand out, I suggest maybe applying for neuroscience research programs (this summer is almost all filled, but maybe somewhere has openings), getting involved in the affiliations of choice, making connections with faculty, and see if you can form an implement your own research experiment. That will give you stellar credentials. When you write your SOP then, you'll have more concrete reasons why you know you are right for them, not just because you want it, but you have the experience to back it up.