Colleges for Neuroscience???

College Search & Selection
1

Hi can someone tell me which schools (less competitive) have good neuroscience programs or any major relating to neuroscience such as cognitive science or a BS in psychology?

I know the prestigious schools but I’m looking at good value schools with a good reputation, an average cost ($50.000 per year being the max), and a better chance of getting in

These are the schools on my list so far

CU Boulder
University of Mass Amherst
Purdue
University of San Diego
University of Washington*
University of Wisconsin
University of Minnesota
Creighton
Baylor
University of CO Denver*
Michigan State
UConn
Nova southeastern BSDO
University of Virginia Tech

I want to replace some of these schools with better value schools
The CO ones are a must for me though because instate

I’d also prefer schools that are in a city or close to a city

2

Looks like you want to become a doctor??

Are your parents saying that they’ll pay $50k per year for undergrad (no loans)?

What are your stats?

Not sure why you want to spend that much each year if your goal is to become a doctor. Tell us more and we can make more intelligent suggestions.

3

Identifying “good value schools” can depend on your family’s financial profile.
For a low income family, a selective private school may offer the most generous need-based aid (and possibly the lowest net costs).
For an upper middle income family, the best value may be at an in-state public school.
For students who cannot cover the Expected Family Contribution (regardless of income), the best value may be at a college that offers big merit scholarships automatically for qualifying stats.

But if your family can afford ~$50K/year out of pocket, and you want the broadest possible choice, you might be right to consider OOS public universities (which often have OOS sticker prices in the $40K-$50K range). Many of them are large enough to offer comprehensive programs in a field like neuroscience.

Have a look at the following click-sortable list for possibilities (cost-wise) that you may have missed:
https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php

You might want to check out UPittsburgh.
https://neuroscience.pitt.edu/

4

I will be taking out loans but the very max my parents are willing to pay is $50,000. The preference is to find a school in the 35-40 range.

I have a 3.05 uw gpa and 3.7 w gpa. 1400 sat. 29 act.

And becoming a doctor is an option but I haven’t decided if I want to become one yet

5

In better value I mean schools that are affordable but also have good or better neuroscience programs than CU Boulder

I don’t think I would get into UPitt

6

Undergraduate programs in any field aren’t really ranked, so you’ll not really find good evaluations of “better” or “worse” undergraduate neuroscience programs. There are a handful of schools that are well-known for their neuroscience programs (like Emory) or for their cognitive science programs (like Vassar and UCSD), but they’re not really ranked per se.

As a Colorado resident, UCSD is unlikely to be cost effective for you even if you were admitted. About 85% of UCSD admitted freshmen had a GPA over 3.9 last year. Same thing with UW-Seattle, UW-Madison, UMass-Amherst, Purdue, UMN, and Michigan State.

(Minnesota and Purdue are relatively cheap for non-residents - their COA is around $40K - so that may work out for you, although it’s unlikely to be cost-effective compared to CU Boulder or CU Denver).

What about Colorado State University? They have a neuroscience major. (http://mcin.colostate.edu/Undergrad/). Colorado State is a great school.

You probably need some more less competitive privates on your list, places that will offer financial aid to you. The other thing you can explore is doing an independent major at a college that has a lot of the classes you need - even if they don’t have a formal cognitive science or neuroscience program, you still might be able to make one of your own.