Thinking about graduate school?

The Society for Neuroscience has offered the following food for thought for students considering graduate school.

The Benefits of Taking a Gap Year Before Grad School: “In my experience,” explains Rahul Patel, graduate research assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “a gap year, an increasingly popular option for many prospective graduate students, offers a chance to gain the financial capital to apply, brush up on skills and experiences, reflect on what you want out of grad school, and further develop as an aspiring scientist.”

How to Choose a Grad School (and Decide When to Start): “It’s much more about finding the faculty member with whom you’re interested in working and the research questions they’re pursuing, rather than looking for a school,” advises Amy Jo Stavnezer, an undergraduate professor at the College of Wooster. “There are some renowned neuroscience graduate programs, but if they don’t have a mentor you’re motivated to work with for five or six years, they’re not your best choice.”

Five Factors to Consider (Besides Research) When Applying to Graduate Programs: Location, student outcomes, student culture, academic culture, and program design are important considerations to weigh as you determine which graduate school is right for you, according to Kavya Devarakonda, a PhD student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Here is a list of questions you should ask to narrow down your choices.