Frequently Asked Questions

The Grey Matter Project and its leadership are enthusiastic about providing the best possible introduction to the neurosciences to high schoolers. We connect students to top-tier faculty and providers at a world-class institution for lectures, career panels, and more. Our goal is to lift the curtain to you and your chapter and let you look into the window of the wonderful world of neuroscience and medicine. Additionally, we take the pressure off your club advisors by providing all of the educational materials at no cost. We want students to walk away with a passion for neuroscience, just like ours.

No. The Grey Matter Project is free for any club to join, and all lectures, panels, and online resources are provided at no charge. Some activities may require inexpensive, local resources that should be covered by the local chapters, but the activities are specifically designed to be done with a very limited or no budget.

Lectures and career panels take place 7 – 8 p.m. EST. Lectures are also recorded when possible and shared with club members (unless they include patient data), but we strongly encourage Zoom participation if you are able. Additionally, the activities we provide can be done anytime and practically anywhere; it is up to the chapter and their leadership.

Any individual high school student is welcome to join. Many interested students start clubs at their schools when one is not already in place (you would be surprised at how much interest there may be!). If this is not possible, some of the activities may be difficult without additional students, but you are still welcome to participate to any extent that you wish.

Please join! You do not need to be at a school to join. You can also feel free to set up a chapter with other students who are homeschooled, or other friends with similar interests (also see “What if I am interested but don’t have a club?”).

Yes. We like to say that you will get as much out of this organization as you and your members put in. All-in-all, the idea for chapters is to meet two to three times per month to discuss topics, do activities, and maintain engagement, but it is up to each individual club how they wish to participate.

Unfortunately, we are not accepting new chapter applications after October 31st for the 2023-2024 school year. Please still email us and we will add you to the mailing list for the following academic year.

If this is the case, please email greymatterproject@yale.edu. We want everyone to get the most out of The Grey Matter Project and we have limited funds to accommodate the needs of those clubs in lower socioeconomic positions.

If a member or club does not have access to home computers or internet, we suggest that you explore with your local or school library whether the club can hold meetings in those spaces. We have had clubs meet at community libraries with success.

We are introducing a new, more hands-on aspect for students this year to encourage students to not only learn about neuroscience for themselves, but also apply their knowledge and skills to help their communities. We provide suggestions throughout the year for how chapters can engage with their communities. This could be as small as hanging up posters around your high school or local coffee shops about awareness for a particular disorder, making cards for a hospital, or a bake sale to fundraise money. Some months will have a topic or specific assignment that we ask chapters to complete, and others are up to the members.

Ultimately, we want to show off how you are helping your community out! We ask that chapter leaders send us pictures of students helping their local communities, and every month we will feature a chapter on our Instagram page. All depicted students must have a completed Permission to use images and recordings on file.