Looking for for advice on which selectivity "tier" to go for (Neuro PhD)

Graduate School
1

Hey everyone,

I just finished a Fulbright Scholarship in neuroscience / psychiatry and now I’m gearing up for PhD apps this fall (behavioral neuro). I’ve reached out to several schools in Europe (where I was doing the fellowship) that don’t require the GRE, and so far I’ve had two interviews (University of Zurich and Medical University of Vienna).

I’m not quite as well-versed in the US PhD app process, and although admissions statistics are available for most schools, it’s hard to gauge how much my research background could influence my chances at some of the more selective ones.

I figured I’d just post my basic stats plus the programs I’m interested in and hope someone could give me a general direction.

Undergrad: Top 5 LAC. Senior yearlong thesis in Neuroscience. Double major in Neuroscience and German.

GPA: 3.60 (w/ honors). Note: this includes three summer courses taken at my state flagship school (Physics I and II, Biochem). Without these courses, my home institution GPA is 3.56.

GRE: Not yet taken but practice tests have generally been 160+ for both sections. (SAT was 99th percentile if that has any correlation?)

Research: Fulbright Scholarship in Neuroscience; Yearlong senior thesis in neuroscience; multiple internships, awards and scholarships in neuroscience received during undergrad. Total award value: ~$15,000

The US programs I’m interested in are:

Vanderbilt, Duke, NYU, Stanford, UCLA, Yale, Berkeley, Harvard, Hopkins, Princeton

The international programs I’m interested in are:

Oxford, UCL, Cambridge, Imperial, U of Zurich, Medical U of Vienna, U of Munich, U of Heidelberg, Humboldt Berlin

Any advice is appreciated!

2

I can’t speak for international programs, but in the US transcripts from all institutions attended are usually required. The other big things are GRE, letters of recommendation, essay/statement, and research/experience. You sound like a very competitive applicant.

3

Thanks Mandalorian. Any other opinions on the US school list here / competitiveness?

At most European schools, it’s expected that you first contact a professor whose research interests you and then secure written support from them before applying. But in the US, it seems more like you go through a formal app process, go through a year or so of core coursework, and then choose a potential supervisor. That’s just a minor difference I’ve noticed, for anyone wondering.

4

@Saturnalia - My son is heading into his senior year at Texas A&M, majoring in aerospace engineering. He will be applying to US graduate schools beginning in late November. He spend this just-past summer in Aachen, conducting research in carbon-fiber strength and flexibility at various temperatures. Coming from a US university, his observation was that in Germany the supervising professor is far more remote from the graduate students than in the US. There are many graduate students under a senior pre-thesis graduate student, who basically is the liaison between the students and the professor. This student is writing my son’s graduate school recommendation based on this research, which will be co-signed by the supervising professor (whom my son has never met) In contrast, this fall my son hopes to get recommendations from two A&M professors for research that he is conducting directly with them.

For his applications, my son has already been in touch with the professors at his top schools that supervise the labs in which he hopes to work. So he will not have written support, but he hopes to have tacit support.

At the schools to which he is applying, the first year of the PhD program is predominately course work, followed by an oral exam to determine if he will be formally admitted as a PhD candidate. My understanding is that a student may get another chance, but if he or she cannot clear this hurdle then the student would be admitted into a master’s degree program. However, this is not universal. Some universities do not admit students directly into a PhD program; rather they first require completion of a masters degree.

Anyway, the basic point is that you will need to investigate each candidate university’s requirements and practices. Not everything is on the internet, but most have a graduate school admissions coordinator or advisor.

5

Every grad program is different and the process may be dissimilar among programs at the same Uni. Some say apply first, and then we’ll let you speak to a faculty member. Others expect that you reach out to potential faculty members first, and if you don’t, it can be auto-reject.

Point being, research the departmental websites thoroughly.

My D just went thru the process and in each of her SOP’s, it was expected that the applicant identify several faculty members with similar research interests that the applicant could work with, and why.