Alongside peers at institutions across the United States (e.g., Stanford, UC Berkeley, NYU, MIT, Johns Hopkins, etc.), neuroscience students in GLIA recognized that promising scientists come from different backgrounds and have varying levels of access to mentorship and support. To address this resource inequality and support individuals who have the potential to succeed in a graduate program but may otherwise lack guidance on the graduate application process, GLIA’s Action Against Bias committee founded the Penn Neuroscience Graduate Group (NGG) Application Support Program (PNASP) in 2021. 

PNASP runs during the peak of graduate school application season, from October through December each year. Prospective NGG applicants are matched on a first-come, first-served basis with a current NGG student or faculty member. Mentors assist with developing application materials (e.g., CV, personal statement, research statement). Once matched, mentees and mentors should communicate about what type of support will be most helplful.

Importantly, the purpose of this program is not to “pre-screen” applicants. Rather, it provides applicants with supplemental mentorship and resources to help level the playing field for Ph.D. applicants from various backgrounds. To participate, please fill out an interest form here [insert hyperlink].

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information. If there are further questions or concerns, please contact Angelina Baltazar (angelina.baltazar@pennmedicine.upenn.edu) or Fernanda Holleman (fernanda.holleman@pennmedicine.upenn.edu).

Please note: We are not affiliated with UPenn NGG admissions and cannot make any admissions decisions. Moreover, participation in this program is not necessary for admission into Penn NGG. As there are many ways to successfully apply to graduate school, much of our mentorship comes from personal experiences.