Ultrapeaches

Emory just emailed me to invite me to an interview! I wasn't expecting to hear either way from anyone until the end of the month and am totally blown away. Ahhh!

I did it! The question was very general, and it seemed like I could have re-recorded it as many times as I needed to.

It was good! I hadn't really met any current GC students yet; I really liked everyone I talked to in Cincinnati. I got a feel for what it would be like to drive back and forth to Louisville two or three times a week, which was the main reason I drove an hour and 45 minutes for a two hour open house.

Hey team, Any of you guys going to Cincinnati's open house this evening?

Oh, yeah, my bad. That totally doesn't work. I was only thinking of the actual application website which works perfectly has a vague description of the essays that they're looking for. Did the program administrator give you any guidance in regards to length? At this point it feels bizarre to be writing essays with no limit on words/pages.

I haven't had trouble with UC Denver's website - this is actually the application that I'm currently working on. I'm using chrome - maybe try a different browser?

I feel this way exactly. Ten years ago I got a C in Molecular Biology, and that's it, I'm done; there are 100 other applicants who have never gotten a C in anything and are just as strong as me in every other area and there is simply nothing that I can do to compensate. I'm plenty qualified, but when it comes down to it, they're choosing between me and a version of me with a pristine academic history from a more prestigious undergraduate institution, and really, it's no choice at all. So what am I doing to deal with it? 1) Applying to every program that interests me in a city my husband is willing to move to and 2) generating silver linings about my backup plan, which is to finish a non-thesis masters in physiology, accept a full time position as the administrative assistant for the GC office I intern with, then apply again next cycle. I mean, unless I get zero interviews. If I'm outright rejected from all ten programs, I'll probably take the hint and, well, I really don't know. I have never wanted anything for myself this badly in my life. There is a sort of fatalism that I think is necessary to not go crazy. I am exactly who I am, and that will come through in my writing, in my letters of rec, and hopefully in my interview, and they'll either want that person or not. I can't fake being a different sort of person, and I can't make admissions commitees seek something different than they are seeking. Like you said, it's out of my hands - why stress about something you can control no more than you can the weather?

I could be wrong - I have no inside information - but I can't imagine that GRE scores are a particularly important part of your application. This isn't engineering; this is a counseling field. Being good at standardized test just isn't going to be that important a skill set compared to, say, interpersonal skills.

That makes a lot of sense to me; If you're a competitive applicant, 6 schools should be plenty, and if your application isn't strong enough for the first 6, chances are the next 6 are going to pass just the same. That said, I'm probably going to go crazy sending out too many applications anyway, because I think I'm kind of a weird applicant? Like, I could see one adcom being really interested in my doula experience and finding my personal statement compelling, and another thinking that my doula work is totally irrelevant and that I'm entirely mediocre. I feel like my application will be more divisive than a more normal candidate. Plus, besides the cities that they're in, I am having a hard time ranking the school that I'm applying to. There are only maybe 3 that I'm not already excited about, and I'm applying to them because if they offer me an interview, I want to go and learn more before making a decision. In other news, my husband thinks my personal statement needs "several more" rereads, so that's a bit of a self esteem killer and will delay my application submission schedule a bit.

My husband gets home from a trip tomorrow, and he'll be the last person to look over my main essay that I'll be sending to many of the schools. I've had a friend read it and taken it to my university's writing center twice (a bargain at $0 per hour, up to 3 hours per week - take advantage of it if you have one at your undergraduate institution!) but my husband is the best writer I know and a really critical reader, so I wouldn't submit anything without his critique. I'll need to name some minor tweaks between schools, but I think it's basically done. Then, Monday I meet with my final recommender - the GC I'm interning with - to drop off my packet o' recommendation info. Tuesday is my first test in Advanced Biochemistry I, my only missing required class. It seems like it's going to be really easy? I'm debating whether I want to sign up for Advanced Biochemistry II in the spring. On the one hand, if I get in, I'll have wasted my time and $1500. On the other hand, it's a prereq for a bunch of graduate level classes at my university, so if I don't take it and don't get accepted anywhere, I'm very very limited in what classes I can take to improve my application before the next cycle. Decisions decisions. Then... I guess I'm ready to submit like, 6 or so applications? Eeek. It'll seem less overwhelming when I've finished half of my applications and I'm only thinking about a few remaining ones. At least, that's what I'm telling myself... and my friends who've got to be tired of listening to me stress and strategize at this point. Where are you guys in the process?

UTGC - thanks for reading my novel of anxious hand wringing, and thanks so much for your fast and thorough reply! That information about Brandeis is great to have. Boston is right on the edge for us - the cost of living is high, but we have family nearby, so it's a possibility. You've definitely swung me back to hopeful for the day. Now I just have figure out how to cram everything I want to say into the personal statements. On the one hand, I feel like there isn't enough time to write the quality of essays I want to write for a 8+ schools... on the other hand, I'm so eager to put the process of completing applications behind me. The fatalistic exercise of simply waiting to be contacted sounds wholly appealing right now.

Hi team, This is my first year applying to GC programs and since making this decision I've swung wildly between hopeful and despondent. In my life, I've never been so sure of something being right for me; I'll be wrecked if I don't get in anywhere. I'm applying to 8 programs - Stanford, Emory, Cincinnati, Michigan, Denver, CSU Stanislaus, UC Irvine and Northwestern - proscribed by where my husband is willing to live for 2 years. I'm almost 30 and am having a hard time evaluating if I'm a competitive applicant, or not even in the ballpark, as my resume is so different from the standard 22 year old college graduate. GRE: 170V, 163Q, 4.5AWA - This is an area of strength for me. GPA: Technically 3.82 BUT my academic history is a tire fire. All told, it took me 10 years to complete my undergraduate degree. I started at a university close to home, then transfered to a small liberal arts school and did poorly - I dropped out at 19. I came home, took a break from college, got my mental health together, met Mr. Right, got married, and re-enrolled. Then I got pregnant. I had two children with whom I stayed home, and I completed my degree in the edges of the day. I failed an entire semester during my first pregnancy (I retook those courses to replace the grade in my GPA calculation), and haven't taken a full time course load since. My worst grades that I wasn't able to replace are all in science courses - a C in Cellular/Molecular biology, Bs in intro genetics, physiology and two chemistry labs. I took all the upper level courses with the word "genetics" in the title, but human genetics was not offered, so I haven't take it. Advocacy experience: I'm a trained birth doula and have taken doula clients for 3 years. I have no idea if admissions officers will consider this appropriate, if they even bother to learn what a doula does. Research: One year in a molecular bio lab. Loved the experience and learned a lot, but didn't publish anything. I am interning with a local genetic counselor who isn't worried about my prospects for admission, but she graduated 5 years ago and I'm afraid she may be out of touch with how competitive the field currently is. Those of you who applied in previous cycles, would you soberly appraise my likelihood of getting an interview?