Hello! Current high school junior year. I’ve definitely done a ton of college searching, but I was wondering if anyone could send me some schools that would match me with a good neuroscience or cognitive sciences program. I just recently became interested in neuroscience and am not sure which schools would be good for me!
Current stats:
UW GPA: 96(100 point scale)
Weighted GPA: 104.7 (will continue to go up, I expect a 105-106 by senior year)
PSAT: 1340 (took last year with no studying. I expect to get around a 1500 SAT with my studying)
Rank: #2 or #3 out of 250 (haven’t found out yet, but this is what I have heard from rumors)
Some extracurriculars I am/ am going to do:
Key Club Vice President this year, editor last year, possibly president senior year
DECA 2 year state qualifier, this year I got 1st in my region for our test. Will be competing in February to find out if I get to go to nationals. Probably will run for DECA president as well
NHS member, school musical member (huge time commitment), 3 year varsity cheerleader, choir, soup kitchen volunteering, more stuff that doesnt matter
I plan to volunteer a lot of my time for colonial reenactments this spring and summer.
Possibly may get accepted to a workshop in regenerative medicine at UPenn.
I plan to do an internship this summer in biological sciences, but I haven't yet been accepted to any. I'm applying to 6-7 so hopefully I at least get 1.
Participating in the Brain Bee next month
I’m a student from NJ. I prefer urban schools. Don’t really care for much beyond that except that the school is quite prestigious. My top choice right now is UPenn, but of course that is a reach for anyone, so I’m looking for a few more mid-range matches.
Tufts is about half the size of Penn, but it has an international reputation for it’s undergraduate Cognitive and Brain Science program (neuroscience is one component of this program).
Research tends to be very interdisciplinary and leverages partnerships (due to size).
If you are interested in the leading edge of regenerative medicine, neuroscience, computer science, biology and engineering, then the Allen Center/Levin Labs at Tufts is one of the top labs in the country. There are research partnerships with Harvard, MIT, BU (all local) as well as Princeton, U Chicago and Tel Aviv University.
Location is high density suburban. Somerville has the second highest density of young people and artists in the country and abuts Cambridge (which has the third highest density of young people and artists in the country) which abuts Boston. The surrounding area is the largest biotech hub in the world.
WPI has announced big plans in this area (see https://www.wpi.edu/academics/arts-sciences/neuroscience), See Some selected faculty working in this interdisciplinary field which involves the Biology & Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics departments.
Ohio State, U of Pittsburgh, UT Dallas, U of MN, Tulane, USC, Michigan State, Fordham, Duke, Washington U in St Louis all have strong neuroscience departments and good reputations
If you will consider a smaller LAC, I think MacAlester College checks most to the boxes. Urban, prestigious among LAC and a burgeoning neuroscience program along with a stellar biology program.
@katnissjul All the schools mentioned in this thread so far are excellent for neuroscience. One of the things you need to research is what the admission requirements are for the major, because getting admitted to a selective school does not guarantee that you will get admitted to neuroscience as a major. Some schools like Amherst limit the number of students that can major in neuroscience and have a certain high gpa requirements. Oftentimes the admissions requirement for being accepted into the neuroscience major are as difficult as getting accepted to the university. If you select a school with a great neuroscience program but then cannot get admitted to the major it defeats the whole purpose. Some schools have direct admit to the major (just requiring a minimum gpa), while others require just a B or better in one or two prerequisite courses in order to be eligible to major in neuroscience. So the requirements for being admitted to this major differ from school to school.
If you’re female, check out Barnard College (and neuroscience resources in other divisions of Columbia U).
It’s definitely urban, and is a bit less selective than UPenn.
Carleton College would be a good choice for neuroscience, with departmental strength in all the other sciences. The college does not limit student majors based on GPA or other factors. See the link below to Carleton’s Neuroscience Dept. homepage:
Seconding Pitt - excellent neuroscience, #5 nationally in NIH funding (translates into research and opportunities to do research), McGowen Institute of Regenerative Medicine was where my dd did 4 yrs UG in a research lab focused on brain imaging. http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/
Multiple hospitals on campus, urban setting, merit aid for highly qualified in state and out of state…lots of positives.
consider Vanderbilt as well… the neuroscience major is strong, the medical center and the Kennedy center provide great research opportunities, and VU is in a really vibrant part of Nashville.
Neuroscience at the UG level isn’t that big of a deal. Basically every school is going to have a Biology, Psychology and Computer Science so you’d be able to get the classes you want and need. What’s more important is the opportunity to do research. I’d explore your research opportunities at every school you have an interest.
Hello, my 2 cents for you is to investigate programs at Ohio State University which has a growing program with diversified specialties, Pitt, Wash U. Case Western Reserve University has an interesting Cognitive Science major which deliberately incorporates the humanities into the major. No neuro there.
@katnissjul : Late, but add Emory and WUSTL to your list. They have very defined well constructed UNDERGRADUATE Neuroscience programs. Many of the places above were mentioned in terms of research funding and stuff (which those two have a lot of as well), but mention nothing about the construction of the neuroscience programs. Actually go look on the neuroscience websites and see the oppurtunities offered to undergraduates. Some should really stand out (I have a bias because I went to one, but I will say that both I mentioned have put a lot of effort into constantly enhancing undergraduate education in the life sciences, very serious about rigor in those areas and what to emphasize. If you go to either, you will be heavily exposed to problem solving, research, and even writing in those fields. Plus I think both have great opps in terms of quantitative and computational neuroscience for UNDERGRADs…very specific programs targeting undergrads). I’m amazed these two got overlooked. Be careful when you see people primarily boosting the research credentials of their programs. I may not reflect how accessible they are nor the type of coursework and teaching you will receive.