Schools for Neuroscience Ph.D program

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone,
I want to apply a Neuroscience Ph.D program. I am wondering what is my best case scenero and worst case scenero in schools. Here is my little profile:</p>

<p>I'm a transfer student from a community college, and I've been in U.S. since 18. </p>

<p>Bechlor received School:<br>
Top Public School </p>

<p>Major
Cell Biology</p>

<p>GRE Score:<br>
Q - 790<br>
V - 510<br>
AW - 3.5</p>

<p>GPA:
Last 60 units - 2.9
Overall - 3.1 </p>

<p>Experiences
A research lab in Cognitive Neuroscience - 1 year</p>

<p>Publication:
None</p>

<p>I know my weakest point here will be my horrible horrible Undergrad GPA. And I also got a F in my Biochemistry (which I later got a C+). This period of my life was completely chaos. I lost my grandfather (I lived with all these years before I came here) ,and at the mean time, tried to fit into a college life because I transfered from a 2 years college to a 4 years University. That is a shame I didn't pull it together. Now I have to face the situation. After the event, I barely send my score upward. I got my research experiences after graduate, spent a year as a volunteer. </p>

<p>I am not sure which school will give me a better chance, and hope someone here can help me a little on that. And someone who know this field well (a graduate student)
Thank you very much for all your patience.</p>

2

<p>As a general guideline, reading forum posts before you post is a good way to see if your question has been asked before. If you do that, you’ll notice that many people have posted here asking their chances, and that posters have pointed out that unless you a) are specific about your research interests and b) have some schools in mind, there’s very little anyone can give you advice on. Nobody here, grad student or otherwise, will be able to look at your post and tell you the ten schools you should apply to; that is something you need to figure out.
So: Do you know what area of neuroscience you’re interested in? Going along with that, how does your year in a cog neuro lab work with your background in cell biology? You say you don’t have any publications, but what have you done and learned from your research experience?</p>

3

<p>One way to rehabilitate a lower than ideal GPA is to complete a master’s degree before moving on to the PhD; this allows you to prove to the PhD professors that you have overcome whatever issue caused the low GPA. It also allows you to focus on more research and get LORs from profs who supervise you when you are doing well rather than when you were not as committed to your marks</p>

4

<p>^^^ There are few master’s programs in neuroscience, and most of those are not highly regarded. Besides, I think someone with a 2.9 over the last 60 units may have trouble getting admitting to a master’s program.</p>

<p>To the OP: graduate school academics, particularly in neuroscience, can be a lot tougher than undergraduate, so graduate programs will rightly question your ability to get maintain a B+ average, the requirement for most PhD programs. </p>

<p>First, you need to ask yourself whether graduate school is right for you, and why. If you are convinced that you can not only handle the intensity but love it, then you’ll need to strengthen your profile. </p>

<p>Second, you must decide which area of neuroscience you want to pursue. Molecular and cellular? Cognitive? Systems? Behavioral? Quantitative? Engineering/computer science? If you don’t know these distinctions, you must first educate yourself in the differences and find which fits your interests.</p>

<p>Third, instead of trying to get into a master’s program, I suggest that you take a year or two to strengthen your qualifications. Find out if your undergraduate university will let you take courses as a non-degree student for a year. Take courses only relevant to the branch of neuroscience you want to study. For example, if you will be applying to psychology programs, take cognitive-specific psych courses. If you want to come at it from the cellular level, take courses such as neurophysiology and cellular/molecular neuroscience. It is absolutely essential that you maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher during this year to overcome your previous poor performance and to show that personal issues were indeed a mitigating factor. If you can’t get high grades, then you probably need to rethink graduate school.</p>

<p>Fourth, while you are taking these courses as a non-matriculated student, work as many hours as possible in a lab related to your subfield. Don’t expect to be paid. Be assertive (without being obnoxious) in getting this position, and explain why you want it. Professors love students who want to go to graduate school.</p>

<p>Fifth, when it comes time to apply, you’ll have to briefly address your grades in your SOP, but you must do it in a positive way. Don’t excuse your poor academic performance as much as describe your turnaround. Why are you now better suited for graduate school? What happened between graduation and the time you applied? Why are you different now?</p>

<p>You have a tough road ahead of you, but if you really want this, then you should fight for it.</p>

5

<p>If the OP is interested in the psych branch of cogneuro, he could try a master’s in experimental psych. MWFN has some really good points, a lot depends on the details and what is available where the OP lives or where he can relocate</p>

6

<p>Thank you everyone for your suggestions. They are very helpful. </p>

<p>I am interested in doing Cognitive Neuroscience as I worked in the lab. So far I’m already in the middle of my application and personal statement. It seems to me that my chances of getting any school is low.
I will try a few school out if not, I might have to take a few classes in college again. </p>

<p>Here is the list of school I am trying to get in. I know it will be tough, but I started the application long time ago anyway. </p>

<p>UCSD:Neuroscience
UC Davis: Neuroscience
University of Colorado - Boulder: psycology and neuroscience
Boston College
Baylor University
USC: Neuroscience
Boston University</p>

7

<p>I think it might be a bit difficult to get into a neuroscience PhD program. Your gpa is low and although GRE score is not terrible… your writing score is very low. Combining that with only a year of research experience, I think the schools you are applying to are a bit out of your reach. If I were you, I would take additional classes to bring up your gpa, retake the GRE, gain more research experience, and then reapply in a year or two.</p>