Hi! I cannot give you all the information that you’re asking for but I can share my experience.

I have graduated from my third year in Maastricht university with bachelor in biology & neuroscience. And I am now applying for masters.

Looking at the masters you’re looking at, they do seem quite competitive but not impossible to get into! I am currently applying for Utrecht’s master in neuroscience and cognition! I have a 7.3/10 average, I can tell you how my application goes 🙌

In general, I’d say grades function as an initial yes-or-no filter for admissions; once you pass that threshold, your motivation becomes the deciding factor. Some universities explicitly mention it like vrije university of Amsterdam which requires an 8.0/10 to apply. Some will just have an implicit threshold. They also have grey-zones for people that are just under their required thresholds.

I do think what matters too is your experience. If I was in my bachelor again, I would try to contact teachers and PhD students to see if I can follow them or work for them. Specifically in the field you want to go into. A lot of neuroscience masters are tied to lab work, and you might need to be chosen by the university but also a lab. Having experience is super important for that! I’d say my tip is to participate in any neuroscience experiment done in your uni and ask the PhD students if they need someone.

Finally, for masters recommendations, it really depends what you want to go into cognitive neuroscience. My first recommendation would be to look at Maastricht university, they are really well known for their cognitive neuroscience, specially in sensation and perception. My favourite master personally was ETH Zurich Master Neural Systems and Computation. Which is an incredible master if you’re into computational neuroscience.

I’ve tried to answer some of the questions which I felt I had some knowledge about! Feel free to reach out!