<p>Hi, I'm a junior in high school interested in the biological sciences, specifically neuroscience. My weighted GPA average is ~3.7 while unweighted is ~3.6. I haven't taken the SAT yet, but on the PSAT I got in the 93rd percentile.</p>
<p>I'm in the CA Bay Area and I am wondering what schools offer a good biology/neuro program that would be realistic for me to get into. I'm not picky at this point -- just looking for a general list.</p>
<p>After undergrad, UCSF looks awesome, but I don't know much about admissions seeing it's a graduate school. And is it purely a medical school (Is UCSF's neuroscience program for med students?). To research and study neuroscience must I become a med student?</p>
<p>And I don't know much about the whole college deal, so please be specific. Thanks.</p>
<p>Nope, you don't need to be a medical student -- UCSF has PhD programs in neuroscience and biology. </p>
<p>To get into a PhD program in neuroscience, you'll need to have strong undergraduate research experience, so you'll want to pick an undergrad school which will let you do meaningful research as an undergraduate. Professor recommendations are also incredibly important for grad school admissions, so you'll want to go somewhere where you'll be able to develop close relationships with two or three professors. Those should really be the most important criteria when picking an undergrad school if you're thinking that you would want to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>A major in either neuroscience or biology will allow you to get into top graduate programs in neuroscience. (I majored in both. :) You can do that too.)</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me! I'm currently a graduate student in neurobiology, so I guess I must know the ropes pretty well.</p>
<p>Pomona is excellent. However, it may lack specifically in neuroscience research not being a large research university. If you are a CA resident, UCSD would be an excellent being a top 3 program in the nation.</p>
<p>JHU is excellent too, but 93% PSAT is a little low for this university. If you do better on the SAT, then you'll have a better chance. Try to bring up the GPA to 3.7 uw at least. Good luck!</p>
<p>UCSD has an excellent program. However your grades seem a bit low to get in there, unless you score very high on the SAT. JHU is also extremely good in this area. However, again, your grades look a bit low for there as well as admission to JHU is very competitive. However, you never know. I would also apply to UCI, which has a decent program, as more of a match school with your stats. Best of luck!</p>