Stories of Women in Neuroscience · Stories of WiN

Didn't get into grad school, what now?

·28 min·1 clip

Reapplying to the same program should be framed as proof of growth, not just a repeat application.

1. Stories of Women in Neuroscience focuses on what to do after not getting into neuroscience PhD programs on the 2025 cycle. 2. Nancy Bahia hosts Dr. Maribel Patiño, an MD-PhD from UCSD who has served on neuroscience and MD-PhD admissions committees. 3. The episode asks how applicants can strengthen a file before reapplying, especially when funding and admissions numbers are tighter. 4. Maribel says the first step is to identify weaknesses in the application instead of reacting immediately after rejection. 5. She focuses on letters of recommendation, asking who wrote them, how many there were, and whether they were strong. 6. She recommends trying for three letters from three different PIs rather than multiple letters from the same lab. 7. When a PI does not know a student well, she suggests involving graduate student or postdoctoral mentors who see the student every day. 8. She says applicants should send a CV, a draft personal statement, and a factual bullet list of lab contributions to letter writers. 9. She calls PI co-signing important and describes letters signed only by a grad student or postdoc as red flags. 10. The discussion turns to research productivity, with emphasis on posters, publications, and evidence of independence. 11. Maribel says presenting at Society for Neuroscience, ABRCMS, SACNAS, or a regional conference can strengthen a file. 12. She notes that a first-author poster can signal more independence than being a tenth author on a large paper. 13. For students with little research experience, she points to the NIH postbac program and advises emailing potential PIs directly after applying. 14. She also names research technician jobs at UCSD, Salk, St. Jude, the Stanford Consortium, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science. 15. The episode explains that low GPA can be offset by a stronger test score and by a PI letter stating the student is working at graduate-student level. 16. Maribel says a GPA below 3.6 can trigger more questions, especially if the weaker grades are in science courses. 17. The tone is practical and advising, with Nancy and Maribel trading examples and clarifying admissions language. 18. The format is a conversational interview built around specific applicant scenarios and direct committee-based advice. 19. Listeners applying to neuroscience or biomedical PhD programs will get the most from this episode. 20. People seeking broad neuroscience science content rather than admissions strategy may skip it.

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