If you’re running out of space on the Common App, then I would consider eliminating the one that was less meaningful to you, or seeing if there was a way to condense (i.e. Youth Orchestras: Roles & years at the county and roles & years at the city).
Most colleges do have research. But when you’re investigating your options, see if they have labs doing work that interests you. Also, find out how easy/difficult it is for undergrads to be a part of the lab. At some places, all of you have to do is ask. Other places, particularly the ones with extensive grad programs, are harder to get into because they have lots of grad students to do the work rather than depending on undergrads.
U. of Rochester is known for promotion research with its undergrads. Liberal arts colleges (which include Vassar and Colgate) are usually very good at including undergrads. Other schools…it just depends. Also, sometimes it can vary based on where you fall in the student body with respect to academic qualifications. If all students are similarly (or more) qualified than you, then your competition is likely to be stiffer than at a school where you are among the best. (Big fish, small pond type situation.)
The same rules apply. Your chance of getting into a top level program goes up if you have prior research experience in a top lab and have been productive (conference participation and publications). Unfortunately, the top R1 neuro programs in the US are in exceedingly competitive schools but I would still look at the programs at schools I have listed.
Hopkins in particular is a great choice. A good way to find labs and schools that are active in your area/s of interest is to use the NIH Reporter tool: https://reporter.nih.gov/
No funding = less active research opportunities.
Another good source is grantome: https://grantome.com/
Good luck!
So by this, I assume you want to continue on with a PhD in Neuroscience. In that case, doing research in a neuroscience lab during undergrad will help with your grad school applications. Especially since the letter from your lab director will mean a lot.
You can also land a great PhD program by doing research in other areas. But the closer to neuroscience the better. Any type of wet lab experience would be valued.
The top labs programs in neuroscience are (in no particular order): Penn, Stanford, Boston U, Michigan, Brown, Princeton, UCSF, Baylor, Cold Spring Harbor, NIMH, UCLA, Harvard, Rochester, Duke, Columbia, Mayo Clinic, SUNY Stony Brook, Vanderbilt, WashU, Pitt
If you’re looking outside the US then also consider: Karolinska Institute, University College London, Kings College London, McGill, Oxford, U Toronto, U Melbourne
There may be others that I’ve missed, but these are the ones off the top of my head. Also take a look at Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
Neuroscience is such a vast discipline at this point that it almost doesn’t matter what subfield you base your undergrad research in. There is someone doing related work somewhere in a graduate program, most likely at a gigantic university.
Yes, I do want to get a PhD – I’m doing a paid neuroscience internship over this summer, and then an unpaid one throughout my school year, so if I’m applying to the schools that you’ve listed below, how much would this give me an advantage when I try to land research work in undergrad? The internships are both through the Department of Defense at an army research base near me.
Thanks for replying, I’ve been looking at the articles on SfN, they’re super cool!
I actually already have an academic internship! My magnet program partners with a local army research facility to match us each with a mentor so that we can do a “capstone” project, which is essentially just an unpaid internship throughout the year.
A good safety to consider could be the College of Wooster, which is one of the most research-focused LAC’s in the country. (And it’s almost within your stated 6 hr radius from Baltimore - less than 6.5 hrs, anyway.) Neuroscience - The College of Wooster The College of Wooster It’s also strong in music.
Getting into a lab as a undergrad varies in difficulty. At some smaller colleges there are lots of research opportunities for undergrads. But at others, it is heavily grad focused, so not many undergrads can get into a lab. Also the productivity of the PI, grant funding, geography, and other factors come into play.
But having prior research experience will definitely help. The biggest factor that can help is networking (SfN). Having an introduction from someone in your network can make a big impression.