Neuroscience classes count as "hard science" classes

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Dirkwww

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I have read a good deal here about needing hard science classes. How are Neuroscience classes seen? I am sort of getting a minor in Neuroscience and by the end of it all i will have taken 4 or 5 Neuro classes.
 
Yeah, it depends. I was a neuroscience minor and I had some biology or physio-based courses, but I also had some philosophy courses too.
 
Hmm so do you think these would be considered such: cognitive psychology, sensation and perception,clinical neuroscience, drugs and the nervous system?
 
I'm confused...why do you have to take hard science courses in the first place? It probably depends on the lab/research focus. If you're looking at social psychology-like topics, who cares if you've taken biochemistry. If you're interested in neuropsych, then maybe a class in the human brain probably helps. I think you should take classes you think you'll enjoy and do well in. There's no point in going out and taking physics just to have a "hard science" course to add to your resume. I took an upper level stats course thinking it would boost my application, but in the end, I didn't even mention it. 80% of my SOP centered around research, research, research. I highly highly doubt any POI would scrutinize your transcript to the degree you do it yourself.
 
Hard science classes definitely more appropriate for those looking to do more bio/med/neuro type research. I think most neuro students (and many practicing clinicians) are very weak in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology....a pet peeve of mine. I think upper-level stats classes can help a bit more across the board. Stats are stats...whether you use them for biz, science, or the stock market. Once you start noticing nuanced differences in what works best in each area, you'll be 3-5 stats classes in and NerdBait to most labs. 😉 However, a dark-horse option would be to consider programming classes that look at database development/architecture. If you know how to work with large data sets, write code to query various types of databases, and understand HOW and WHAT is being done...then you can get a leg up on most applicants in certain types of labs. Be warned, the good classes require a solid understand of logic, basic coding strategies, and they will eat up anyone who doesn't have prior programming experience/exposure. Upper-level stats classes can have some crossover into this kind of learning.
 
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