<p>I know there are tons of clinical programs that are easier to get into because they don't offer funding. But pretty much all experimental programs offer funding so is it possible to find any programs that maybe get less applicants or have lower admission standards but are still decent schools?</p>
<p>I'm asking this because my list of schools seems to be all top tier programs and I'm having trouble finding programs that are more average. </p>
<p>Anyone have any suggestions??</p>
<p>Are you going for neuroscience or psychology?</p>
<p>Both programs. I’m applying to programs that do cool fMRI research. 
Only one program on my list is a pure neuroscience program though. The others are cognitive psychology/ cognitive neuroscience but I’m open to either type of program as long as they do neuroimaging.</p>
<p>What are the schools currently on your list? Is it safe to say that your background is more in psychology than in biology? When you say “cool fMRI research,” what specifically are you interested in exploring?</p>
<p>if you’re flexible on location, I’ve heard that programs in the Midwest and South can be easier to get in to. As a native Midwesterner who lives in the South, it annoys me that this is true, but a lot of people won’t apply to grad programs in those areas because they refuse to live there. their loss, I guess. I’ve also had grad schools in Texas mentioned as good mileage for your money (or time spent applying, in your case), for the same reason. </p>
<p>As mom… is hinting at, the specific schools depend completely on your research interests. However, if you are looking at less selective schools and want to do fMRI research, make sure they have those facilities. Even better, do they have at least one research dedicated scanner? What’s the field strength? etc. The quality of research you can do in grad school will be affected by the quality of scanning facilities, processing software, etc. Plus, neuroimaging is a rapidly changing field, and schools that have more people working in the area will be more up on new techniques- which will mean that you will get more out of grad school. </p>
<p>one last semi-unsolicted piece of advice- fMRI isn’t the be-all, end-all of research! it gets oversold. Keep in mind that, as a grad student, you may not even have the funding to use imaging in your own research.</p>
<p>Well, if you’re applying to neuroimaging labs, you won’t have to worry about funding for scanner time. Nessa’s other points are very well-taken though: you don’t want to go somewhere where you can only book scanner time two days a week outside of business hours. If you’re applying to productive labs, you know that they at least can get time, but you should be sensitive to how much of a hassle this is for different labs / departments. You don’t want to go somewhere where your research is held up because you can’t get enough time.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for the replies!!</p>
<p>Yes, I am making sure each program I apply has neuroimaging facilities and has opportunities to use the equipment. I’d be fine with doing other types of research in addition to fMRI but I want to go somewhere that has a decent amount of fMRI research opportunities. </p>
<p>I know everything you guys said is important and I’m taking it into consideration when I apply. It’s hard because it seems to go to a school that has lots of nice neuroimaging equipment they are top schools because they need funding to use all of the expensive neuroimaging technology. </p>
<p>My list so far… MIT, CMU, Michigan State, Johns Hopkins, Boston College and a couple of maybe’s. </p>
<p>So that list is pretty much all tier 1 schools and will get lots of tier 1 applicants. Are there any mid-range schools that have good facilities and enough funding but maybe not the prestige? I don’t care about location at all. I’m from the northeast though so I’m not as familiar with schools far away from me…</p>
<p>Michigan State and Boston College have top-tier cognitive science programs? I would think that they’d fit into the mid-tier range.</p>
<p>If you are applying to CMU, you might as well apply to Univ. of Pittsburgh psychology since you can get into the CNBC from either institution, and Pitt psychology is probably somewhat easier to get into than CMU’s psychology. You can also get a certificate in neuro-imaging techniques through the CNBC. (I don’t recommend Pitt’s neuroscience program for you because its core curriculum is biology-based; however, you can get into the CNBC from that program as well.)</p>
<p>You might want to look into the University of Rochester, Dartmouth, Penn State, University of MD, and Boston University.</p>
<p>Michigan state maybe mid range (though they are one of the few schools to explicitly say GRE scores are very important for admissions). Boston College has some outstanding faculty members and they gets lots of applicants. </p>
<p>Thank you very much for your school suggestions!! I will look into the one’s you mentioned.</p>
<p>I did look into Pitt’s program but unfortunately the one professor I really wanted to work with is not taking students.</p>
<p>I have looked at some of them but I’ll check out the faculty again. </p>
<p>Dartmouth is cool but I hear they only want applicants who have research experience post undergrad, sadly. </p>
<p>Thank you again!!!</p>
<p>“Dartmouth is cool but I hear they only want applicants who have research experience post undergrad, sadly.”</p>
<p>This seems pretty strange to me. Does the department website itself say this, or are you basing this on third-party information, like someone who applied there previously? Either way, if you have good research experience while doing undergrad, I can’t imagine them saying “no thanks, only post-grad counts.”</p>
<p>Its from one of the Dartmouth grad students I know well… </p>
<p>I worked in a lab there a couple summers ago but the prof I worked with isn’t taking students this year. </p>
<p>Think its worth applying anyway? There are a couple other professors that do some cool research though</p>
<p>Re: “not taking students this year.”</p>
<p>All programs work differently, and some require a faculty sponsor for admission; that is, you need to be funded by a single professor with whom you are expected to work from day one. However, many, if not most, programs admit students as a pool, not as individuals attached to a faculty member. That means that just because a faculty member is not taking students this year, it doesn’t mean that he/she won’t be taking students when you are ready to settle on an advisor. Of course you should apply to places which have more than one faculty member doing work in your area or you risk being disappointed, but you don’t need to find a PI who is accepting students NOW. You just need three or so researchers who work in your area of interest. You’ll have to peruse the program’s web sites to get a feel about how each works. In places that accept students as a pool, the most important thing for you to look at is whether the PIs that interest you are actively doing research; you can tell this from recent publications. If a PI is active in the research community, you can be fairly sure that there is movement with the graduate students. As one or two graduate, another one or two is brought in. A new grant means more funding – and often more students.</p>
<p>Mom is right for some departments, but all the cognitive / cognitive neuroscience psychology programs I applied to were to work in specific labs. You apply to the department, but that doesn’t really mean much: if the lab that you want to join is not taking students, you won’t be admitted. These were programs with no rotations, so as soon as you’re admitted, you start working in a specific lab (even if classes are taking up most of your time for the first year or two). At these places, it doesn’t really make sense to apply to work with someone who can’t take you on for a year or two. That’s a pretty bad handicap to start off your grad career.</p>
<p>It is up to you whether you apply to programs where the only lab you would fit into says they aren’t taking people. In my case, I crossed those off my list. I was also pretty set on what I wanted to study, though, so it wasn’t enough for me to have a couple somewhat-related labs. If the lab I wanted wasn’t taking students, the department just wasn’t going to work for me. That may not describe you, and if you’re more flexible about research topics, you can certainly disregard some of what I’ve said! </p>
<p>Neuroscience programs, even ones that are more cognitively-focused, tend to have rotations. That gives you some more leeway in terms of applying and not joining a lab for a year, but you still have the same problem in the sense that you have to rotate with a lab for you and the PI to know whether you’ll fit there. So if the lab can’t take a rotation student for a year, it would still be pretty tough to join that lab, even if there are rotations.</p>
<p>Neurograd, you are correct in saying that my information applies to neuroscience programs, not ones in psychology departments. </p>
<p>FWIW, my D is a first year grad student in neuroscience, with a specialization in cognitive neuroscience. She has been able to rotate into the labs that she wants. I will say that she wouldn’t have been offered interviews at places that didn’t have openings for students in her area.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your replies.</p>
<p>I am applying to mostly neuro programs that are in a psych department so I have to pick someone to work with right off the bat so to speak. A few psychology programs have rotations but it seems most of them use the mentor model initially. </p>
<p>I made sure for all of the programs I’m applying to they had a professor or two who are accepting students and do research that I could see myself doing. </p>
<p>What do you guys think about Dartmouth though? Will working there as an RA help the fact that they prefer applicants with post grad experience?</p>
<p>My knowledge of “post-grad research experience” is that it almost always means working as an RA, so what you’re suggesting would be good. I’m currently working as an RA prior to applying, and I can tell you it is extremely helpful- but I didn’t get much experience in undergrad either. Also, although working as an RA is often a Plan B, I will say it is nice to have income and free time, for once
As for Dartmouth, it sounds like you have some connections there so it may be easier to find an RA job there, but for admission’s sake I don’t think you need to work there specifically.</p>