2017 Neuroscience PhD Applicants and Admission Results

[Janiejoneswoah]

2 minutes ago, nihchick2017 said:

I don't think anyone takes out loans, most people just live frugally. Also, Stanford has really good on campus housing that you can live in for your whole PhD. If you're willing to live in the less nice housing,  it's only like $750 a month, or if you want something higher end it's around 1100-1300. Most of the grad students seemed to live pretty comfortably (going out for dinner/drinks a lot, going into the city a lot). It's definitely a livable stipend. However, you'd probably live way more comfortably in Baltimore i.e. you could have a car, take more vacations, etc. But living near SF is also it's own factor since the city is unbelievable (my favorite in the US by far). Also I heard from the Stanford grad students that for each class you TA after you fufill the teaching requirement you get paid $1500. not sure if that is also the case at Hopkins.

I am sold. Thanks very much for making that decision easier!

[nihchick2017]

30 minutes ago, Janiejoneswoah said:

I am sold. Thanks very much for making that decision easier!

Of course, happy to help! (although I probably should have tried to sell you on Baltimore since Stanford is my top choice and I haven't heard from them yet but oh well )

[dbBDK]

Anyone heard from BU or UMN?

[Raptor Science Activate]

On 1/6/2017 at 0:06 PM, seven27 said:

I sometimes wonder if schools immediately accept a group of outstanding applicants, then are stuck deciding between 30 students with more or less comparable records for 10 interview spots.  At this point, do schools offer interviews to those who will cost less?  If I lived in NYC, maybe I would be more likely to interview at NYU or another east coast institution, compared to someone with similar credentials in Billings, Montana or Tempe, Arizona.  I mean, this probably doesn't happen, but it's something I think about while refreshing my inbox.

Also, I noticed that a bunch of people received NYU Neural Science rejection e-mails yesterday.  My application is still labeled under review as of ~10AM today according to the NYU tracking system.  I wonder if that should be an encouraging sign.

A friend of mine called NYU yesterday and confirmed this.  NYU's Center for Neural Science (under GSAS) sent out an immediate group of invites (great fit) as well as an immediate group of rejections (poor fit).  Now they are sorting through the middle group.  I'm still "under review" at this time as well.  I'm not necessarily expecting an interview at this stage, though.  Relatively speaking, NYU isn't my strongest research match.

Side note, Michigan didn't receive one of my LORs until 12/23 -- after interviews went out.  I would have sworn it was submitted before the 12/1 deadline!  *sigh*

Edited January 11, 2017 by Raptor Science Activate

[FlipWizard]

Anyone know if Stanford is done sending out invites? Tufts contacted me today with an invite for March 3 which overlaps with the dates Stanford has listed on their website. Just wanted to check before I confirm with Tufts that I'll be attending.

[seven27]

5 hours ago, Raptor Science Activate said:

A friend of mine called NYU yesterday and confirmed this.  NYU's Center for Neural Science (under GSAS) sent out an immediate group of invites (great fit) as well as an immediate group of rejections (poor fit).  Now they are sorting through the middle group.  I'm still "under review" at this time as well.  I'm not necessarily expecting an interview at this stage, though.  Relatively speaking, NYU isn't my strongest research match.

That's good to know.  I'm not holding my breathe either, but at least there's a chance.  

[DrMeow]

5 hours ago, Raptor Science Activate said:

A friend of mine called NYU yesterday and confirmed this.  NYU's Center for Neural Science (under GSAS) sent out an immediate group of invites (great fit) as well as an immediate group of rejections (poor fit).  Now they are sorting through the middle group.  I'm still "under review" at this time as well.  I'm not necessarily expecting an interview at this stage, though.  Relatively speaking, NYU isn't my strongest research match.

Side note, Michigan didn't receive one of my LORs until 12/23 -- after interviews went out.  I would have sworn it was submitted before the 12/1 deadline!  *sigh*

Where do you see that the application is "under review"? As far as I can see mine just say "submitted".

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by DrMeow

[DrMeow]

On January 8, 2017 at 4:12 PM, Daphna_ said:

You're not alone... I am also an international student, with what I thought were very good credentials... but haven't heard back from NYU or Columbia (or any other university I've applied to, other than UCSD from which I was rejected....)

 

Hi Daphna. Thanks for your reply. Well let us just assume that both NYU and Columbia are contacting internationals through January, and that is why we haven't heard anything.  Even though this might only prolong the endless refreshing of the email client for no reason whatsoever. 

[Janiejoneswoah]

3 hours ago, FlipWizard said:

Anyone know if Stanford is done sending out invites? Tufts contacted me today with an invite for March 3 which overlaps with the dates Stanford has listed on their website. Just wanted to check before I confirm with Tufts that I'll be attending.

Their initial email says that they will be sending out invitations the week of January 9th... and even though I received an unofficial email from a POI on Sunday, I am actually still waiting on the official acceptance email. So I think there could still be a good few yet to come.

Edited January 11, 2017 by Janiejoneswoah

[vallaboop]

Hi all,

As many of you have gone through the same, I am hoping for a little guidance. I am hoping to apply to a PhD program for behavioral neuroscience in the fall. I am extremely worried about my chances and I am wondering what I can do (if anything) to boost my chances of getting accepted. I graduated from Syracuse University in 2012 with a BS in psychology and neuroscience (GPA 3.0..ouch). I attended an MS program for Neuroscience (GPA 3.8) but had to leave after a semester due to personal reasons. I am currently in a Ms program for clinical psychology (GPA 4.0) and I am a research assistant for Dartmouth-Hitchcock (previously Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, employed 1.5 years). I have extensive experience with SPSS, I have experience conducting research assessments, have helped in writing papers (not currently published), conducted lit searches, administrative duties, etc. I am a graduate student affiliate for the APA and I am hoping to be a member of Psi Chi shortly. 

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? I would greatly appreciate it!! 

[neuro449]

Just so everyone knows, I'm almost 100% sure that every school's admissions committee is biased and discriminatory. I have a medical disorder that is highly stigmatized in society, and even though I can do laboratory work perfectly fine (I've worked in many labs before), someone on an adcom whom i know very well told me that the school did not extend me an interview solely because of my condition. I don't want to disclose too much, but just a warning to people who will interview that if you have a medical condition (overt or covert) that is stigmatized, do your best to convince your interviewers that your condition will not interfere with your ability to perform lab work.

I'm extremely disappointed in the discriminatory nature of graduate schools' adcoms, but I just feel like I should let everyone know what happened to me so that you are all aware.

[Raptor Science Activate]

4 hours ago, neuro449 said:

Just so everyone knows, I'm almost 100% sure that every school's admissions committee is biased and discriminatory. I have a medical disorder that is highly stigmatized in society, and even though I can do laboratory work perfectly fine (I've worked in many labs before), someone on an adcom whom i know very well told me that the school did not extend me an interview solely because of my condition. I don't want to disclose too much, but just a warning to people who will interview that if you have a medical condition (overt or covert) that is stigmatized, do your best to convince your interviewers that your condition will not interfere with your ability to perform lab work.

I'm extremely disappointed in the discriminatory nature of graduate schools' adcoms, but I just feel like I should let everyone know what happened to me so that you are all aware.

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience!  That is appalling.  

If you don't mind my asking, did you choose to disclose your illness?  Or is this something the schools discovered on their own?  I thought conventional advice was to avoid disclosing health issues at all costs -- especially if they are highly stigmatized -- until after the acceptance stage (if at all). Often times, employers and programs don't want to know so that they are protected from being sued for health-related discrimination later on.  If they don't know, there is no way it can influence their decision either way.  One program I recently interviewed at emphasized that while they were happy to accommodate any disabilities as needed, they absolutely did not want to know at this stage of the process (interviews).

Of course, sometimes it is impossible to hide a health issue.  For instance, it is challenging for my partner, who has a movement disorder, to stop ticking in an interview.

I can discuss over PM if you would prefer.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Raptor Science Activate

[Raptor Science Activate]

10 hours ago, DrMeow said:

Where do you see that the application is "under review"? As far as I can see mine just say "submitted".

Follow this link and input your unique University Identification Number (sent by NYU in an earlier email). Your should be able to see your application status.  http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/request/smts.html

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Raptor Science Activate
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[seven27]

12 hours ago, Raptor Science Activate said:

You should be able to see your application status. 

I believe there are NYU-invitees floating around here.  Can someone give their NYU interview dates?  It seems pretty late for NYU to send out more invites, despite our 'under review' status 

[panruto]

On 1/10/2017 at 8:53 PM, dbBDK said:

Anyone heard from BU or UMN?

Also waiting on BU, last year they sent out invites end of January. FYI, UC Davis Neuroscience is done sending invites.

Does anyone know if USC NGP or UCLA Behavioral Neuroscience (psychology phd) is done sending invites?

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by panruto

[lildoc]

3 hours ago, panruto said:

Also waiting on BU, last year they sent out invites end of January. FYI, UC Davis Neuroscience is done sending invites.

Does anyone know if USC NGP or UCLA Behavioral Neuroscience (psychology phd) is done sending invites?

 

Still waiting on BU...

I thought USC was done sending out invitations (based on this forum), but they seem to have several interview dates. I got one a few days ago, so they might be still sending out invitations. Also a lot of schools are still working on people who can and can't attend their open house/interviews so you may hear back from schools you thought you wouldn't. Hopefully you hear back from USC soon!! Good luck

[m21]

Any news on Stanford? Are they still sending out invites or are they done?

[nihchick2017]

6 hours ago, m21 said:

Any news on Stanford? Are they still sending out invites or are they done?

I emailed the PI I worked for last summer at Stanford and haven't heard back (they're usually very quick to respond to email) so maybe they're still sending them out/working on who to invite?

[Neurokai]

Friend if mine got Stanford interview invite on Tuesday Jan. 10th

EDIT - afternoon

 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Neurokai

[guest2130]

On 1/9/2017 at 0:33 AM, Raptor Science Activate said:

I am!  I'm especially interested in mood disorders, learning, pair bonding, and drug addiction/pharmacology.  I approach things through the lens of molecular biology, so I applied mostly to neurobiology programs as well as a couple psych programs.  In retrospect, I might have benefited from applying to a couple umbrella programs, as I have additional extensive research experience in fields other than neuroscience (cancer biology, inflammation, gastroenterology).

I'm not sure about the timelines for your programs, but I hope you hear back with exciting news soon!  

I would have loved to have applied to neurobiology programs but I am lacking in chemistry and biology coursework. My thesis work was focused on psychopharmacology/behavioral neuroscience and memory, so all the labs I applied to are involved with the same type of work and interests. I have several posters and good research experience so hopefully it all works out! 

 

Good luck!  

[kayzee]

applied: University of Michigan, Dartmouth, UCLA, University of Madison Wisconsin

interview invites: Dartmouth, Wisconsin Madison

anyone have thoughts on Ivy versus public research universities in terms of long-term career outcomes?

Edited January 17, 2017 by kayzee

[levelground]

From the Stanford Neuroscience program director, Dr. Ricci:

"At this point if you have not received an interview request than you were not selected to this group. I want to stress that this year in particular we have a very difficult task with ~640 applicants for 8 slots. The selection process is quite complex and you should not take this as negatively as it really is about the best fit. This is the hardest part of the job as there are many outstanding candidates that we just don't have the bandwidth to bring in."

The above is from email correspondence @ noon today 

[Cervello]

Glad I didn't waste the application fee and my time writing the application.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Cervello

[jtjmonk90]

Has anyone heard anything from University of Maryland College Park, or University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine? What about Hopkins?

[cmykrgb]

20 hours ago, jacobs96720 said:

Has anyone heard anything from University of Maryland College Park, or University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine? What about Hopkins?

Hopkins rejection just came for me