Chances of getting into a top systems neuroscience program

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi guys, yup another one of these...</p>

<p>I'm planning on applying to Ph.D programs for systems neuroscience for Fall of 2016. As of now, my list of schools is pretty ambitious...MIT, Caltech, Harvard, U chicago, UCSD, Berkeley, U washington, John's Hopkins, Stanford, Columbia, and NYU. I feel as though I'm a pretty competitive applicant but don't have much perspective from other people in my situation. I graduated from a mid-tier state school with a degree in neuroscience (GPA 3.6, science gpa 3.7) and have 4 separate research experiences: 1 summer in clinical unrelated to neuroscience, I worked in a cognitive neuroscience lab for 2 years in college, did a summer SURP program with a well known systems neuroscientist at a top program, and now work as a lab tech with one of the most famous systems neuroscientists (Will have two years working full time by the time I start grad school) - I'll have good recommendations from all of these PIs (hopefully). I don't have any publications, but I am anticipating having at least one by the time I'm done in my current lab. I haven't taken the GRE yet.</p>

<p>I've done my research on these schools and the research I've been doing is a great fit for these programs. Am I right in thinking I won't have a problem getting accepted into at least a couple of these programs? Coming from a mid-tier state school applying to these top-tier schools is intimidating for me so I'm not sure exactly what it takes to get in. Thanks in advance for any help.</p>

2

<p>If you have looked into the programs at each of your candidate schools, you should know the names of the professors conducting the research. If possible, you want to make contact with those professors, so that they know that you are interested in their research, and make them aware that you have done some research in the same area. Also, check to see if any of your references has a direct connection with the professors at your candidate schools. It would be a great help if they could introduce you to one of the professors. The professors in graduate research programs have some control over who gets accepted into grad school because they have the $ to support a student, and know what type of student they are looking for.</p>