Ultrapeaches
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Posts posted by Ultrapeaches
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7 hours ago, GCInTraining said:
Well my appendix decided to try to kill me a few days ago so surgery and recovery have kept me nice and distracted. Definitely not a fun experience but I'm glad it didn't happen during interviews or something. I now get Monday and Tuesday off work but now I'll have to make this decision/ talk to directors while on pain meds... I also won't be able to celebrate or drown myself in ice cream depending on the results. My plan regardless is to continue eating applesauce and mourning the loss of my belly button. Send help.
That's terrifying! I'm sorry about your belly button, but happy you're alive!
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Has anyone else gotten a, like, check in email from school they interviewed with? Very general - "Thanks for interviewing, if you have any questions about program please let us know, good luck on match day!"
I'm trying to decide if this is an auspicious sign.
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I found out today that the GC I interned with lost her job - the hospital is killing their entire oncology department for some reason. I haven't been able to get a hold of her - I was hoping to meet up with her anyway to deliver a thank-you basket of various crafty bric-a-brac that I make (tea cup pour candles, lotion, bath bomb, cookies) but now I really want to talk to her to make sure she's doing okay.
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37 minutes ago, Gorays39 said:
I got an email from the University of Michigan's genetic counseling program and I nearly jumped out of my skin. But it was just a department newsletter.
Haha, yeah, Brandeis emailed me to make sure they had my correct contact information and I was like "AAAAAHHH- oh yes that it my phone number thank you"
But honestly, the handouts the schools all gave us from AGCPD made it sound like it was strictly verboden to let candidates know about their admission status early, so I doubt that schools would risk their accreditation to notify people ahead of time, either intentionally or on accident.
We just have to wait for Monday, guys. Though I'll probably die of anticipation before then, I'll have my partner get on the forum and let you know where I was accepted and where I would have matriculated had the wait not killed me.
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2 hours ago, Gadgette said:
@Ultrapeaches, have you found that knowing where your family wants you to go influences things? I both really want to know what they think and don't!
I was laying in bed last night thinking about how we're [now less] than a week away and could feel my heart rate increase.
I think it depends on your relationship with the family members in question - I care about my parents' and inlaws' relationships with their grandkids, and it's possible that my dad my sweeten the deal with dollars if I move close to him and fret about moving costs, cost of living, whatever.
If it were just me I probably would not care what they wanted, because my personal relationships with them are kinda so-so.
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2 minutes ago, Darwin said:
Out of curiosity, how many people's rankings were different before/after interviews?
For me, I had 5 interviews -- my #1 choice going into applications is still my #1, but the others definitely moved around based on more intangibles that I maybe hadn't considered initially. That being said, I would be thrilled to go to any of the places I visited. I think that's what is making this hard - I really liked them all, and I also am afraid of thinking too much about 'ranking' and setting myself up for disappointment on Monday if it turns out that this cycle doesn't work at at all. I am trying to just keep an open mind and see how things go, but that is easier said than done!
#1 stayed at the top, but #2 jump from the bottom of my list after I visited and met the faculty.
Man, I've kinda pushed the possibility of not getting in out of my mind. If I don't get in I've got to apply for this dumb physiology/biochem masters at U of L in like 2 days and beg them for early entry in the summer so that i can actually finish the degree by May 2018 in time for the next GC cycle.
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I made a spreadsheet (unbelievable, right? Me, a spreadsheet!) and gave the schools grades in each of 6 or 7 areas. Then I let my partner weigh in on the cities and relative tuition/cost of living costs. I liked all of my top 3 programs very much and would be happy at any of them, so the precise ranking was pretty much based on the relative merits of location. But basically no matter where I end up there will be people I love who are upset with me and people who will be happy. My partner and mom and in-laws would love for us to end up in [CITY 1]. My dad and son want us to move to [CITY 2]. I am partial to [CITY 3] as a city and we would have instant community as we have lots of friends there, but the cost of living is intimidating. Combined with a higher tuition than my other two schools, it's hard to make a case for [CITY 3 SCHOOL] even though vibe-wise they were my favorite. My daughter is a being of pure enthusiasm and will be delighted by literally any city.
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1 hour ago, minja134 said:
I'm loving this spreadsheet and filling up time looking at data! I made an other questionaire form that I was thinking we could use to see where the distribution of grad cafe users and interview locations were and add that to the spreadsheet as well.
So if no one minds taking an other quick questionnaire: https://goo.gl/forms/sQm1TzNRiDhsMQGO2
(Nervous for match day!)
Man, we're gonna leave quite a cache of data for the next cohort of applicants to obsess over. Unless my assumptions are way off, close to 10% of all applicants that interviewed this cycle have answered my survey and more than that have weighed in on @metabolismo's - that's a pretty decent sample.
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5 minutes ago, KeepSwimming2017 said:
last week felt like the slowest week of my life...I dunno how I'm going to survive this week!
Right?! Time is just crawling along. I really empathize with Marvel's Quicksilver.
I need to focus on the exciting things I have to look forward to this week.
My kindergartener is performing the play tonight that his adorable kindergarten theater group has been working on for months. It's all 5-7 year old kids, and they wrote the script, designed the sets and costumes, and of course are acting. It's gonna be so great. Some night this week, I'm gonna hang out with a woman I've always admired but never became close with - she texted me and said she feels the same way and wants to be more intentional about becoming friends. In addition to that, I'm going to meet with my last doula client for our last prenatal visit, which is both bittersweet because she's my last one and exciting, because it means that a baby is coming.
What are you looking forward to this week, team?
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Okay so my survey results and analysis can be found here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o1QTZb-PHuih117SY9LW7rPF0-Qm_WGjUvfc7pj0NVM/edit?usp=sharing
And here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bvloEuIlsL5AohmhoBjuF_3UV_ADCF3lz8yVtkLjY9o/edit?usp=sharing
Respectively.
I get a little wordy, but the TL:DR is that I think that about 84% of applicants who were interviewed are getting in somewhere. I'll update my numbers as I get more data. To answer your question, @minja134, right now, people who have answered my survey account for about 5% of total interviews conducted.
- minja134 and metabolismo
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I will fix it so that everyone can see the summary of survey data in an hour or so when I can use my computer - i can't make those setting cooperate on my phone.
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19 hours ago, minja134 said:
That's awesome that you looked at all that! Now I wonder what the percentage of total interviews this forum makes up!
I'm eager to answer this!
It will require this very short Google form
And the crowd sourced completion of this spreadsheet (if you have an educated guess about how many interviews a program conducted or how many students they will be accepting for their fall 2017 class, fill that in - i will finish up the algorithm stuff.)
I promise interesting and applicable data based guesses about how many total applicants there are this cycle and how many of them are likely to get in to a school.
- Gadgette, minja134 and metabolismo
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2 hours ago, Gorays39 said:
Does anyone know if genetic counseling schools can reconsider an offer made to an applicant? I might be overthinking things. I'm currently taking my last prerequisite and struggling quite a bit in the class, despite my best efforts. Would a poor grade in this class cause them to revoke my offer, if I got one? I won't finish the class and know my final grade until well after decision day.
Sure, they can, but they probably won't - it's a huge hassle. They probably wouldn't be able to replace you, so they'd have an entire class one student smaller than they wanted it to be. Not worth it for a C. If you got arrested for a violent crime? Worth it. If they find out you lied on your application? Worth it. One little C from someone they've already decided that they liked and will be successful in their program? Nah, not worth it.
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14 hours ago, Gadgette said:
Out of curiosity, what is everyone doing on Match Day?
My plan: stay home from work to spend the day with my phone, email, and Netflix. Then, regardless of if it's a good or bad day, dinner and drinks with friends.
I've taken (mostly) off from 7am until 3pm, which is difficult when you don't have a real job, but basically I've found alternative transportation and childcare for my kids and my nanny kids. I'm back on at 3 as there just isn't a way to replace me between 3-8pm on Mondays, but I imagine that the main phone call time will be over by that point.
I'm planning to hang out with my partner all day. After we drop our kid off at school at 8:30, we'll head to the gym, then get brunch. That should take until like noon or one, then idk, maybe go trail running if the weather's nice. Maybe get pedicures? Go to my ex's store and play his vast library of board games? A fun, busy day.
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5 hours ago, Nefelibata said:
I had a dream last night that a school called some of us interviewees back for a second round of interviews and we had to do all sorts of crazy athletic things and it ended in a battle royale for who would get the 8 spots
Oh man! I had a similar dream in which one of the items on our interview itineraries was a chin-up competition. My subconscious mind was was clearly trying to extinguish my anxiety about interviews with my recent victory in FINALLY being able to do a legit chin up.
@Gadgette, my game-store-owning ex would totally have given me that if we were still together - I love worker placement games and pontificating on scientifically inaccurate pop culture. Hopefully he'll have the opportunity to give it to me as a going away present.
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Oh my gosh @metabolismo, this is so my jam. Thank you for this idea.
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1 hour ago, GC23 said:
Just curious - what was the favorite place that you interviewed or visited?
My first choice is Emory, followed by UCI. I liked the Boston schools, too, but Boston is an expensive city to live in and my partner is not excited about snow.
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2 minutes ago, Gorays39 said:
You definitely have a valid point! We do have plans to get married after graduate school. He's telling me to go where I feel most comfortable. The program where he is, it's great too. The city has lots of opportunities as well. It would be one of my favorites even if he wasn't there. I have a few weeks to think about it, thankfully.
Oh and cost of tuition! Don't forget about that!
Oh man, I know this board plays it super close to the vest about these things, but I'd love to know everyone's ranking of the programs where they interviewed. Everyone talks about a good fit, and I was skeptical at first - that felt very euphemistic to me - but the more people I talk to who got a completely different sense of the same schools, the more I realize that the "fit" component is not just lip service.
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2 minutes ago, Gorays39 said:
I can imagine the decision seems much more concrete with a husband and children! I have a partner and he is going to be moving to the city where one of my top programs is. However, the other program seems to have a better atmosphere and resources for my particular interests. I don't know, this choice is hard.
It sounds like there is one you like better, but you're torn about moving away from a partner. I have a couple friends who picked their not-first-choice school to be near a partner, and were full of regret when they broke up halfway through the program - I would be hesitant to let a relationship steer you. Of course I say this, even though my partner basically ranked my schools for me, but we've been together for almost 10 years and have kids and such. Are you sure you're still going to be with this person in 2 years?
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1 hour ago, Gorays39 said:
Is anyone struggling with ranking their schools? I've gone on almost all my interviews and I'm torn between two schools. If I got into both of them (not likely but it could happen), I have no idea which one to pick.
For me, it came down to practical factors - cost of living, good public schools for my kids, a city my husband would be happiest living in, how much time I would spend commuting, availability of leisure activities my family enjoys, etc etc etc. I loved 3 of the programs that interviewed me, but when it came down to it, I am also picking where my family will live for two years. Also consider how well you felt like you meshed with the current students and faculty - you'll be spending a lot of time with them!
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And that was my last interview!
What the hell am I going to do for 3 weeks while I wait for decision day?
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5 hours ago, Darwin said:
Anyone who has been to Brandeis already have any tips on places to stay, or impressions from the interview? Was hoping to stay an extra night and explore but I don't know that I can afford an extra night in Boston right now after all of the other traveling.
Agreed that this board has been really helpful in just being able to check in with other people going through the same thing!
I have been to Brandeis, but I stayed with a friend in Boston. If you're just going to go for the Brandeis interview, you're probably better off staying at a hotel or airbnb in Waltham to save on uber expenses and time - it's like a 30-40 minute drive from the city proper.
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10 hours ago, Nefelibata said:
Same boat here. The three empty weeks between my April 3rd interview and D-Day April 24th are going to be torture!
Where are YOU going on April 3rd? I'll be at UC Irvine.
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1 hour ago, HC929 said:
Man, I thought waiting for the interview was nerve-wracking, but waiting after the interview is definitely worse!! At least before the interview, I could do things to prepare myself. Now, I feel so helpless hahaha my fate's all in their hands and there's not much I can do to change or know their decision :/ How are we supposed to wait a whole month now?!
Right? I wish I had interviews later in April so that I didn't have a full 3 weeks between my last interview and finding out where I'm going. Or not going.
I hope the activity on this board doesn't die off; checking it has been a habit since I first started working on applications in September. With no more work to be done, it's the only part of the ritual I have left to pass the time.
Genetic Counseling Fall 2017 Applicants
in Biology
Posted
I went to the gym and cleaned out my van. I'm dropping on of my kiddos off with my mom then going to a friend's birthday party. Gonna eat so much Mexican food and drink margaritas very moderately because i am an Old.
Oh and I need to buy new phone chargers because 3 of my roommates went out of town together yesterday and mistakenly took all the chargers in the house. Obviously this is a disaster.
I've been waiting months for tomorrow - almost a year, really - and suddenly feel not ready. What happens tomorrow is final; no more anxiety or uncertainty, but also no more conjecture or hope. Yikes.
Maybe I *will* go ahead and have a second or third margarita.