<p>Hi</p>
<p>I hold dual Canadian/Australian citizenship, although I live and completed my undergrad in Australia. I don't know much about the Canadian tertiary system (it's very different to Australia). I have applied for a Neuroscience PhD at McGill and am wondering about my chances of getting in. </p>
<p>I have an Honours degree in Psychology. This is a 4-year science degree with a strong research focus, that included a year-long individual research project, culminating in a 15 000 word thesis. All the courses taken in my degree were psychology/science (this is the norm in Australia). My research project was not in neuroscience. My thesis is in the process of being edited for submission for publication.</p>
<p>I graduated with First Class Honours (this is the highest grade awarded for an Honours research project). We do not use GPAs. However, in my coursework, I was consistently either the top or second top student throughout every semester of my degree. </p>
<p>Because of my unfamiliarity with the Canadian system, I am unsure whether my chances are good. Do I have enough research experience? I feel this may be my one weakness. In Australia, I would be confident about being accepted at any PhD program.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>Short answer: I don’t know XD</p>
<p>Long answer: Basically your records showed you’re the best of your peers in terms of both academics and research. Make sure you have excellent prof who knows you to write your letter of rec. Here in US, people often do those research, make either poster or publish papers, and some write thesis just as you. And those people are the ones that stand great chance in grad school at US. My previous boss is from McGill and he told me that US and CA universities have similar criteria in admission and McGill is easier to enter for internationals. Therefore, I’d say you have at worst above average chance.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your input. I can only assume I had very good letters of recommendation (although I didn’t get to read them). One was from my research supervisor who obviously knows me well and worked closely with me. The other was from a leading Australian child health researcher. </p>
<p>Reading over your post has made me realise that I probably could have added research experience into my application that I did not because I didn’t know it was relevant. For example, I do have lots of experience writing up research reports and doing poster presentations as part of my university assessment. However, I suppose I foolishly forgot that people in another country may not know that this is generally what an Honours psychology degree entails - I did not explicitly point it out and probably should have. Although I suppose I have the opportunity to do that should I be selected for interview. </p>
<p>Thanks again for your response, it was really helpful.</p>
<p>Oh, and I would so appreciate more comments on this if anyone else has an opinion on it :)</p>
<p>If the Canadian universities are like those in the US, research is paramount. Without research experience, it is almost impossible to gain admittance into a PhD program, and your statement should have contained a detailed description of your research interests and past experience.</p>
<p>Again, if McGill neuroscience has the same model as the US programs in neuroscience, you should have already received an invitation to interview via Skype or phone (for internationals) if you were in the running. Of course, they may do things differently. I don’t know.</p>
<p>In the US, students usually apply to 8 or more programs to help their odds of acceptance even when they have years of research experience. You never know whether the professors who interest you have funding or room for more graduate students, so even if you are a good research match, with an excellent profile, you might not get into a particular program.</p>
<p>If you don’t get in this year, my advice is to enhance your research experience this coming year and apply again. Your profile looks impressive except for research.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, even though I studied in Australia and am Australian, I am also Canadian and have applied as a domestic (Canadian) student. I have received email saying they will let me know about skype interviews at some later date.</p>
<p>As a very belated update in case anyone still cares, I was accepted into the Neuroscience PhD program with a recruitment scholarship and a fellowship - and I accepted:)</p>
<p>Congrats! That’s very cool to hear. McGill and Montreal both look amazing!</p>
<p>Congratulations! McGill (as I’m sure you know) has one of the best Neuroscience programmes in the world. I’m glad that they recognized your potential.</p>
<p>thanks everyone. </p>
<p>i have a random question that has been surprisingly hard to find an answer for. does anyone have a general idea of how much tax i will have to pay on my scholarship/fellowship in quebec? </p>
<p>thanks again!</p>