Chances of Getting in to Neuroscience PhD Programs

[abcdelemoneater]

Hi Everyone! I am planning on applying to neuroscience PhD programs and I was wondering whether or not I should aim much lower or apply to M.S. programs, or if I have a good chance at these universities. I am sure that many of these are definitely reach schools, but I thought that I would ask anyways:

• Johns Hopkins
• UMD
• Harvard
• MIT
• Boston University
• UPENN
• University of Pittsburgh
• UCSF
• UC Berkeley
• Stanford
• UCLA
• UCSD
• Cal Tech
• University of Michigan
• Yale
• Northwestern
• University of Chicago
• Princeton
• Columbia
• Cornell
• NYU
• University of Rochester
• Mount Sinai
• University of Washington
• Duke University
• UNC Chapel Hill
• Washington University
• Emory University
• Rice University
• Stats:
  
  cGPA = 3.65
  Undergraduate Institution = Virginia Commonwealth University & took Calculus II/III + Linear Algebra + Differential Equations + Introduction to Probability Theory courses at UMD College Park
  GRE = not taken yet
  
  I have roughly 5 years of total research experience:
  
  USUHS (Uterine Fibroids) - spent roughly two months as a brief experience in a lab setting at 17 years old
  
  VCU / Department of Physiology and Biophysics - spent roughly a 1.5 years research Autism Spectrum Disorders in mouse models. This experience lead to co-authorship on a ACS Chemical Neuroscience publication, two poster presentations (one at UROP and another at biophysical society), and a senior thesis/defense
  
  NIH (NIMH) - spent 1 year as a Postbac IRTA Research Fellow researching the circuitry and neuromodulation underlying various depression and emotion regulation models in transgenic mice. Unfortunately, this experience did not translate to any publishable work, but I amassed a ton of new techniques under my belt
  
  Johns Hopkins University - spent 2 years as a Research Technologist doing research on magnetically-heated nanoparticles as a potential treatment method for glioblastomas and other cancers as well. From here got another poster presentation and I was able to craft my own independent project, which I am still working on
  
  Awards/Distinctions:
  
  - Honors College Member and Graduate
  - Honors Distinction in Biology (1 of 6 people in my class)
  - Cum Laude Latin Honors
  - Dean's List (5x)
  
  Other Information:
  
  I can get very strong letters of recommendation from all three of my previous PIs, as well as get in contact and establish strong relationships with potential labs that I would want to join at some of the universities mentioned above
  
  I have mastered A LOT of techniques throughout these experiences, including ones in molecular biology, electrophysiology, behavior tests, histology, microscopy/imaging, data analysis, etc. I have a strong skill set in computational approaches using R, Matlab, and Python as well
  
  ** the list above is a master-list and it will be narrowed down eventually**
  
  I have more experiences in community outreach and clinical experiences as well, but I did not think that it would be TOO relevant when applying for PhD programs.

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[PipetteDreams]

You seem like a strong candidate. Applying to that many schools is absolutely bananas.

I would suggest attending a conference to network and asking your PIs to suggest labs that would be a good fit. Try to narrow things down a bit. That said, given your location, have you considered UVA?