Clueless Intl student needs help seeking colleges

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone!</p>

<p>Current : Undergraduate student of biotechnology stream from VIT University, India</p>

<p>Aim: MS course in Neuroscience/Neurobiology in the US. </p>

<p>GRE exams : 1290 (v570 q720)<br>
**I understand that my scores are on the lower side and thus i am refraining from applying to the prestigious IVY league colleges. </p>

<p>research work :
1. at the National defense research labs(DRDE)
2. assisted in a project funded by Zurich university at KIIT biotech labs. </p>

<p>Paper presentation : in an international conference </p>

<p>**currently involved in several research works.</p>

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<p>Preference:
1.Tuition fees ($25,000-$30,000)
2.Ample scholarship opportunities.</p>

<p>What colleges should i consider applying to??</p>

2

<p>I think UCSD, Brandeis and JHU have great neurosinence programs</p>

3

<p>Terminal MS programs in neuroscience are rare. You might want to look at PhD programs instead, especially since they will pay tuition and a stipend if you are accepted. (You don’t have to get an MS before you apply to PhD programs.)</p>

4

<p>$25000-30000/year is not enough for the UC range of tuition ($45,000+ for tuition only for international students) , so if they don’t offer scholarship to you, you can safely exclude the UC from your consideration.</p>

<p>The flagship campus of University of Ohio has strong academics and tuition is about $21000-26000 per year, you may want to give it a thought. The range of tuition you are looking at excludes you from any good grad school in California and the NYC area, without calculating scholarships.</p>

5

<p>@husky818,artloversplus: Thanks a lot people…Really appreciate ur help :slight_smile: and will keep your suggestions in mind.</p>

<p>@Momwaitingfornew: Is pursuing a PhD a better option keeping in mind my academic profile? Will i be eligible for various scholarships as i am unable to bear the entire expenses on my own.</p>

6

<p>In the US, pursuing a PhD is the best option for anyone wishing a degree in neuroscience. Yes, MS degrees are granted, but in most cases they are given because a student leaves his PhD training after exams are passed but before the dissertation is written. </p>

<p>As far as I know, most neuroscience PhD programs fully fund all their students provided that they make satisfactory progress toward the degree. The first year or two, students are supported by the program; after that, they are generally supported by their advisor and/or outside grants. You shouldn’t have to contribute any of your own money. You would also get a stipend for living expenses, ranging from US$24,000 to $30,000. Master’s programs are entirely different; in those, most students have to pay some or all of the costs toward their degree.</p>

<p>I don’t know the reputation of your undergraduate university or how you fared grade-wise. I also don’t know whether your undergraduate degree translates into the US equivalent of a B.A. or B.S. degree, a requirement for many programs. (You may have to get a master’s in India first before you can apply to US graduate schools, but you’ll have to do the research yourself.) From what little you reveal, especially given your research experience and publication (?), you should be otherwise qualified for fully funded PhD programs.</p>

<p>Research your specific interests within neuroscience to discover programs compatible with your desired subfield. Once you identify potential programs, you can look deeper into their requirements, support, and special rules, if any, for international students.</p>

7

<p>Check out these threads to see the profiles of people who applied to biomedical science programs the last two years. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/794776-2010-official-biosciences-interviews-results.html?highlight=official+2010[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/794776-2010-official-biosciences-interviews-results.html?highlight=official+2010&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/610408-official-biomedical-sciences-interviews-acceptances-2009-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/610408-official-biomedical-sciences-interviews-acceptances-2009-a.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>@Momwaitingfornew:
My undergrad gpa is 8.34/10</p>

<p>And the details of my Research experience are:

  1. Finished already:
    •Training at DRDE Defense research labs, Gwalior on “Peptide mass fingerprinting, Western blotting, RT PCR, Gene Expression” techniques. May 2010- July 2010 (54 days) .
    •Paper presented on “Automobile generated air-borne diseases and control measures” in an International seminar at ITM Universe, Gwalior. Dec2009
    •Assisted in a research project “Development of gene specific Salmonella typhimurium mutants by lambda red recombinase system” funded by Zurich University at KIIT Biotech labs, Bhubneshwar. May 2009-July 2009 (31 days).</p>

<p>2.Ongoing projects:
•A project on “Comparative properties of probiotics and methods to enhance it” (Jan 2010-till date)
•A Project on “In-silico approach for development of a potential drug for Parkinson’s disease” (July 2010- till date)
•A project on “Development of nano-particles using crude plant extract” (Aug 2010-till date)
•A project on “Development of Bio-ethanol using Microbes on rice substrate” (Aug 2010-till date)</p>

<p>Technical Experience:
•Training on “Analytical Instrumentation”(GC,HPLC,AAS, FTIR and UV-VIS Spectrophotometer)at VITTBI. July 2009-Sept 2009 (3 months)
•Training in Spencer’s Distilleries, Ranchi on “Production of fermented beverages” for a period 20 days. May 2009 </p>

<p>Extra curricular activities:
•Participated in elocution competitions and secured 1st place for consecutive years.(2001-2002)
•Active member of NAF. (2003-till date)
•Took part in various trekking events organized by NAF.(2003-2006)
•Participated in parasailing event organized by the NAF.(2004)
•Participated in various Mathematics and Science Olympiads and secured distinction at various levels.(2003-2004)
•Winner of distinctive performance certificate at the National Science Olympiad.(2004)
•Won various prizes for acting and other stage programs. (2002-2006)
•Winner of “The best actor award” 2nd place (2004) and 3rd place (2003) at annual inter-school competitions.
•House captain and championship winner at the Annual sports meet. (2004)
•Won various prizes in track and field events held at school.(1996-2004)
•Represented the school cricket team on district level in the annual KVS sports meet.(2006)
•Active member of ISTE,SABEST,IEI students chapters.(2007- to date)
•Part of a joint educational venture by Rochester Institute and VIT at GRAVITAS ’09.</p>

<p>Are my scores and other attributes good enough to get me into any of the following Universities:
1.University of Oklahoma
2.San diego state university
3.Ohio state university
4.Brandeis University(1yr)
5.Northwestern University(1yr)
6.University of South carolina
7.University of North Carolina, Chapel hill.
8.University of Texas at Austin
9.Baylor school of medicine
10.Penn state University
11.Columbia University
12.University of Chicago
13.Michigan State University*</p>