Neuroscience-Need some guidance

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi, everyone. I'm trying to decide whether to apply to neuroscience programs for Fall 2011 or wait a year and strengthen my application some more. I'm primarily interested in computational neuroscience. </p>

<p>I graduated a couple years ago with a double major in math and physics from a well known liberal arts school (unfortunately, we are well known for our football team and not for our academics). I had intended to go to grad school and study theoretical physics, however, after applying and getting accepted to some top physics schools (Cornell being one of them), I developed very serious health problems and had to decline my offers of admission.</p>

<p>Thanks to a few top notch doctors my health has improved drastically, and I'm ready to go back to grad school. However, for a number of personal reasons, I've decided to pursue research in the field of computational neuroscience instead of physics. </p>

<p>Here's the problem though: I have no idea how competitive comp neuroscience admissions are. Even though I'd be applying to regular neuroscience programs (except for maybe a couple of places), I'm assuming that students wanting to do comp neuroscience are put into a different applicant pool than regular students. I do know that professors are actively recruiting physics and math majors into these fields, so my background should match up nicely, but I don't know how many other people are fighting for those same spots.</p>

<p>Here are some programs I'm interested in :</p>

<p>comp neuroscience track, Princeton neuroscience
Xiao-Jing Wang's comp neuroscience lab, Yale neuroscience
theoretical neuroscience, Columbia neuroscience
Emery Brown and Poggio , MIT brain and cognitive sciences
neural sciences with bio comp emphasis, NYU
comp bio or neuroscience, Cornell
comp neuroscience track, UCSD neuroscience
comp neuroscience track, UChicago neuroscience
neuroscience, UPenn neuroscience graduate group</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA 3.81 (all A's except for one in upper level math and physics classes)
Majors: Math and Physics
GRE: 600V (85%), 720Q (80%), 4AW (these were pretty bad scores, but Cornell didn't seem to mind when they accepted me to study theoretical physics)
Honors: An externally awarded physics scholarship, Senior Scholar in Mathematics
Research: 2+ years in computational physics, 1 published paper (2nd author out of three) 1 ppt presentation and published abstract for regional APS (American Physical Society), 1 poster presentation at APS
Some Advanced Courses: Graduate class in quantum field theory taken at another university (two semesters), 3 semester long mathematical physics course covering advanced topics, lots of upper level math and physics classes
LOR: 1 math professor, 1 physics professor (professor who taught QFT), 1 physics professor (research adviser)</p>

<p>Should I apply? Or will I just be giving free money to the grad schools? If the latter, how do I strengthen my application? I've looked at masters programs in neuroscience and comp bio, but none of the halfway decent ones offer financial support, and I'm not crazy enough to take out loans to pay for them.</p>

<p>Do you think it's worthwhile to email a couple of the professors I'm interested in working with and ask their opinion? </p>

<p>Advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks</p>

2

<p>I forgot to mention that I can also claim underrepresented minority status in good conscience.</p>

3

<p>Yes, you should apply, and yes, you should contact professors for advice.</p>

<p>My only concern with your profile is that you don’t say that you’ve taken any biology, something that will be extremely important in computational neuroscience. You need, at the very least, cell bio. Molecular biology would be a plus. Most neuroscience programs are liberal about your major and preparation since the field is so large, but you’ll still need something on your transcript to show that you know what you’re getting into. Besides, you really don’t want your introduction to biology to be cellular neuroscience at the graduate level, a common core course across programs. Most websites will list their minimum background requirements.</p>

<p>In the meantime, see if you can get a lab tech job, either in actual biology/neuroscience or in bioinformatics.</p>

<p>If you can get the above, your application will be exceedingly strong.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for replying. You are correct. I have zero courses in biology. Most of my courses are in physics and math. I was planning on taking some bio courses next semester (and beginning summer session if necessary) at a local university to prepare for neuroscience. Should I just apply and inform the schools of my plan? I guess as long as I have the classes before the Fall 2011 semester, I should be ok. Right?</p>

<p>I’ll look into a tech job as well. It’s a very good idea. I appreciate it.</p>

5

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<p>I must have misread your original post. I thought you said that you were applying in Fall 2011, not for Fall 2011 matriculation. Without biology courses or any experience in the neuroscience field, your chances decrease. Sure, you can apply in the next month or so, but you should prepare for the possibility that you may have to wait another year. Your statement should include explicit reasons why you know neuroscience is your field.</p>

<p>Computational neuroscience is indeed a hot field, and your preparation in math and physics will be above most of your competition. (I hope you have some computer science as well.) The programs you listed are indeed extremely competitive. With the requisite cell bio and molecular biology courses, you would have a MUCH greater chance of being admitted than you have now. That doesn’t mean, of course, that you won’t get it this cycle. It just means that programs will have to decide to take a chance on you. </p>

<p>You will have to decide how important it is for you to start next year. If you strongly want this, then apply more broadly, including programs that might not be quite as competitive as the ones you’ve listed. In this case, you can’t worry about the time and money. However, if you don’t mind reapplying (if necessary) next year, then pare down the list to save some top programs for next fall. Your last option is, of course, to save yourself the time and money and simply wait for next year when you’ll be more qualified.</p>

6

<p>You know, your other option is to apply to a math or computer science program (if you have CS) that does work in computational biology. For instance, Carnegie Mellon offers a PhD in Computational Biology.</p>

<p>[Joint</a> CMU-Pitt Ph.D. Program in Computational Biology](<a href=“http://www.compbio.cmu.edu/admissions.html]Joint”>http://www.compbio.cmu.edu/admissions.html)</p>

<p>Edited to add: But that program expects applicants to have some background in biology. </p>

<p>You know, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that you should wait a year, as I originally thought you were.</p>

7

<p>Honestly, it is much easier for a physics/math person to pick up the biology than it is for a biology person to pick up the math. 0 biology courses is not great, but I think its less of a problem in terms of getting accepted when you’re specifically applying to computational labs/programs. The big challenge will be picking up all the necessary material either before you matriculate or during your first year. Every course you take will expect a good understanding of biology. </p>

<p>If you can take some bio courses or at least audit them in the next year, and can mention that you’re working to make up your deficits in biology on your application, I think you’ll still have a decent shot at getting in somewhere.</p>

<p>As far as a tech job, I actually think that wouldn’t help you much. If you’re interested in computational labs, you’re not going to be doing experimental work, so that kind of research experience, while better than nothing, isn’t really that important. Your case is one of the few where I think you’d be better served cramming in as many bio courses as you can, rather than going for a tech position or more research experience. Now, if you can find an RA position in a computational lab, that would be the absolute best choice.</p>

8

<p>I don’t know much about this field, sorry, but why would you “be giving free money to the grad schools?” Aren’t these programs funded?</p>

9

<p>He/she was talking about application fees.</p>

10

<p>momwaitingfornew is correct. I was talking about app money. And I’m a “he.”</p>

<p>So far, I’m leaning towards applying to grad schools in the next couple of months as well as enrolling in the first year classes for a biology major, “molecular and cell biology” and “structure and function of organisms”, at a local university (I would take them concurrently in the Spring).</p>

<p>Before I make a final decision, I’m going to email some comp neurosci professors at various universities and ask them what qualifications they’re looking for, but I’m not sure what to include in the email. Should I simply ask them if an extensive biology background is necessary to work in their labs and/or gain admission? Or should I be more personal and talk about my background specifically? If the latter, should I go ahead and include my C.V.? Should I try and “sell myself”?</p>

<p>BTW, I emailed Princeton the other day and asked them about applying to their neuroscience program without having biology classes. This was their response:</p>

<p>“Thank you for your interest in our program. We welcome students with a variety of backgrounds, even if they have zero biology background.”</p>

11

<p>Princeton would be a wonderful place for a computational neuroscientist, and I’m relieved for you that you don’t need biology classes prior to admission. I think you have an excellent chance there. </p>

<p>When you email programs to ask about their requirements (first make sure that they aren’t already on the web site!), give them a summary of your background instead of sending a CV. I suggest also avoiding the program’s main email address, where you are likely to get a response from an administrative assistant; instead, go right for the chair of the program. Also, if you don’t get a response, don’t take that as a bad sign. Professors are extremely busy, and if your email arrives at a particularly difficult time, they may neglect to respond.</p>

12

<p>In addition to looking at the pre-requisites as stated on the various websites of the schools in which you are interested, try seeing if they list current students in the program anywhere on the website. If they do, often the undergrad schools/degrees are also listed and you can see if they all have biological sciences backgrounds…</p>