Graduate Neuroscience PhD chances

<p>Hi everyone! I am wondering if anyone could help me with my chances of getting into the following PhD programs in Neuroscience:</p>

<p>NYU
Lehigh
BU
USC
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Einstein
Penn State</p>

<p>Stats:
Undergrad: BA Neuroscience, Univ of Southern California
GRE: 161V, 163Q
Research: 2 years as only undergraduate in an auditory neuroscience lab
Graduate Research Interests: Multisensory Integration
Work: administrative assistant in the Dean's office at the dental school
Extra- curriculars:
JEP (Joint educational project)
Interaxon (a neuroscience educational outreach group)
Neuroscience & Law Society
USC Competition Cheer
USC Marathon team </p>

<p>Finally, GPA is my biggest concern. I transferred from Boston University after my freshman year. My BU GPA is a 3.75 and my USC GPA is a 2.7. For an overall GPA of 3.16.
However, this semester I have a 4.0 and am taking Neurobiology, stats, an evolutionary psychology course and advance business writing. GPA should be 3.2 after this semester and USC GPA will be almost 3.0.</p>

<p>I should also mention I dropped ochemB and then i failed it because of some issues with the drop date. That is what is bringing down my gpa so much and is a very big flaw in my application. </p>

<p>Am I still competitive for these programs?? Also, should I mention what happened with ochemB. I never took the final or the last test because I thought it was dropped, otherwise i wouldve gotten at least a c.</p>

<p>sorry im adding this response so i can follow the thread. please help!</p>

<p>GPA is definitely your biggest weakness, but it’s still nearly impossible to chance someone for specific programs. Such a big factor is how well your research interests fit with the professors at the institutions you are looking at.
Your GPA will be above 3.0, which is sort of a threshold for some programs. But you should have very strong letters of recommendation to demonstrate your success and abilities research-wise.
For PhD programs, the other extra-curriculars are basically irrelevant.
I think it’s worth applying, but you might consider a gap year to build experience or doing a master’s degree before the PhD if you don’t get in.</p>

<p>Thank you @nanotechnology ! I am also applying to some masters programs in the field, many of which have the option to transfer credits to the PhD coursework if you are admitted after completing the masters.</p>

<p>Many PhD programs do not take transfer coursework, and if they do, they rarely take more than a year’s worth. It’s unlikely that your MS programs will shave off any significant amount of time from your PhD, although it does vary from field to field. But regardless, non-neuroscience related ECs don’t matter.</p>

<p>I think you can be competitive for MS programs, especially if your GPA does go to a 3.2-3.3 and with the 2 years of research. I think you’d be borderline for PhD programs; what is really going to count is strong letters of recommendations, an excellent personal statement and programs that are chosen very carefully to reflect your own personal research fit with the department.</p>

<p>If the F in OChem is an administrative error, can you talk to the registrar to get it fixed and thus off your transcript?</p>