Please please give me your honest opinion!

[NeuroNerd86]

Hello everyone,

I know that there are plenty of posts like that on the board, but I really really reallly need your honest opinion on my chances.

I'm applying for PhD graduate programs in neuroscience, however I feel like I'm far behind my fellow applicants in the field.

Here are my stats:

GPA for 2 years at the top school in my native country: 4.65/5 (majored in bio)

GPA from the American college of graduation: 3.097/4 (top public school, majored in neuroscience)

GRE: 580V/760Q/?? AW

TOEFL: exempt

2 years of undergrad research experience

almost 2 years of full-time staff research experience in neuroscience lab

1 pending 2nd author paper,

2 abstracts (1 first author)

4 posters (2 first author)

National award in the related research field (top 5 poster at the conference-I think I was the only non-grad student or post-docs competing but I'm not sure)

probably will receive good LORs from my supervisors at the lab and some professors.

My American undergrad GPA is honestly killing me. I know it is not hopelessly awful, but I have some pretty bad grades- I failed a class

in my major (to be fair, it is one class with a VERY high failure rate, I retook the following quarter and got a B+), got some Cs and had to withdraw from 2 classes very late. I'm not making any excuses and it is my fault entirely, but I did have some hindering circumstances:

-some family stuff -hence an awful quarter with a D and one of the withdrawals

-since I was in the US for only a year prior to getting into a college, I was plain lost and overwhelmed for some time (hence the first withdrawal

when I realized I am going to fail the class). It didn't really help that I already attended a university in another country

and it got me "wired" differently, since the system is nothing like the one in the US.

I am being realistic about my chances for getting into a top program being slim to none, but I'm just not sure if I should hope that

I will get into a decent program altogether.

How should I address the issues listed above to show the admissions committee that I am aware of my shortcomings without sounding like a total whiny?

please help!

Many thanks in advance!

Edited October 27, 2009 by NeuroNerd86

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

You sound promising to me. Research experience and presentations are much more important than GPA (and your research experience is outstanding). Plus your GRE scores are hovering in the 80th % range, so no worries there.

As for how to address your issues in the SOP, just be straightforward and honest. Describe how your other education system was different and that it made a transition to the US system difficult. Acknowledge that you failed a class, but was determined to make up for it and got a B+ the next try! Graduate schools love things like that; they want to know that if you fall you pick yourself back up successfully.