kbash
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Everything posted by kbash
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To anyone curious about second match - the only school is Indiana State. I sent off my materials to them yesterday shortly after I got the email. I'm not too hopeful to even got a shot to interview, but I figured it was worth like an hour of my time to get everything together and send if off. Good luck to anyone else trying for the spot! The program director emailed me back and said they're hoping to have more info next week and then work on scheduling some Skype interviews.
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Just wanted to remind all my fellow rejects who might still be lurking here of the unmatched applicant pool: https://agcpd.org/AdmissionsInfo This year you just have to fill out an online survey starting on Thursday, in past years it was up to you to contact all of the programs by email or phone to inquire if they filled all spots. If any programs happen to not fill up, you can reach out to them and attempt to apply. I'm going to be quite honest, I did this last year and contacted every program, 1 wasn't filled yet. I put in a lot of work to put together a statement and get all my materials together only to be rejected again. I'd say it's worth a shot, but definitely don't start planning your future on this. Best of luck to everyone on here and congrats to all who have gotten acceptances.
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- genetic counseling
- fall 2017
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I definitely thought I'd have heard from all the schools by now, but I'm still waiting on CSU and Wisconsin - both of which have given out some waitlist spots already. And I've gotten 2 rejections so far. I keep telling myself they can only make so many calls at a time, but still I'm so anxious. I want this day to be over with! Ugh.
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@GCapplicant 9:30..I posted here immediately after seeing it lol
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Got a rejection email from Thomas Jefferson..they were my least favorite of all the places I applied and definitely didn't have a good "vibe" with any of the staff there, so definitely no hard feelings...haha. It is a bit rough that the FIRST thing I hear back is a rejection..oh well.. 3 more to hear back from!
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@NHxx I interviewed with CSU last week! It's really laid back..so don't worry about it. Everyone was very nice! It was a pretty stress free day, honestly..you have two interviews with program staff or GCs affiliated with the program that are longer, like 45 minutes each. They just asked about stuff from my CV and personal statement mostly. The rest of the day you learn about the program, tour, and have lunch with current students. I don't really have any tips to share, so hopefully just hearing about it will be helpful enough. Maybe it's just me, but all the programs I've interviewed with so far have been very casual/conversational. I haven't encountered anything too stressful.
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My cumulative GPA is about where you're at right now, maybe a little closer to 3.4, and I've gotten a few interview invites this cycle (and last cycle as well! there's no shame in needing to apply in more than one cycle). I also knew a grad student at one program who had a GPA below 3.0 who was able to get accepted with a little extra coursework after her undergrad. GPA isn't necessarily the biggest component to the applications - some programs even take into consideration your last two years GPA if the cumulative is a bit lower. Again, a lot depends upon the specific programs, but some look most at your genetics coursework to assess your GPA. In my experience, programs are generally looking for someone who is well balanced across all areas. It sounds like you've got some great experiences, and really research in any area can be pretty beneficial. It definitely wouldn't hurt to apply, in my opinion, especially if you feel certain about the career choice. I don't really have much advice about this, but just don't spend too much time comparing yourself to other applicants! I know it's a lot easier said than done, trust me - I did horribly at an interview last year for this reason, but programs don't always accept the person with the greatest stats, it's more about the fit between the individual person and the program. Even though I bombed that interview last cycle, I got invited back to interview this year and did much better! If you don't get any interviews when you apply or even if you do get interviews and don't get accepted the first time around, this gives you the opportunity to reach out to the programs, figure out exactly what they want to see you improve upon, and try again. Best of luck!
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I got an email just to my usual gmail account that I gave as my contact info. Based on my stalking through last years results, it looked like they sent out invites on two days, so there's still a chance you'll hear back! Good luck!
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I got my interview invite to CSU Stanislaus today! Anyone else?
- 1,692 replies
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- genetic counseling
- fall 2017
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@GCFaith92 Thanks for the info about the interviews! I'm in Wisconsin, so that's great that they'll let us know no later than March 17th so I can figure out travel plans and get off work if I'm invited to interview. Good luck! Maybe we'll cross paths soon!
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@GCFaith92 I applied to Thomas Jefferson!! I actually just completed everything and submitted my application yesterday, so I probably shouldn't let myself get too anxious until after the deadline approaches. I'm curious to see if they wait until after the deadline to start inviting applicants. I'm selfishly hoping that not as many people were aware of their program so there's less competition for getting an interview
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I just give a quick overview of main points from my education/work background - where I went to school, what I studied, one or two notable work experiences and what those entailed. I also avoid anything "personal" like family, hobbies, hometown, etc..I did a mock interview last cycle with a clinical psych professor who I was a research assistant for and her advice was to try and keep everything discussed to mostly professional experiences/accomplishments that are unique to you (unless of course the interviewer asks you a more personal question!) She also said that "tell me about yourself" is a good moment to highlight what experiences were most important to you, not just rattling off bullet points from your CV/personal statement. I keep it brief, only like a minute or so to refresh on what my background experiences are. Some interviewers don't have notes/papers/questions prepared in front of them, if this is the case a lot of what they ask you about following this question will be based off of whatever you brought up.
- 1,692 replies
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- genetic counseling
- fall 2017
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Still haven't heard from them yet - I interviewed there last year and was waitlisted, so I'm freaking out as well! I thought for sure I'd hear from them.
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If it is a hardship to get off of work, you could try contacting the program and see if you could do a Skype interview. The only big downside to that is that you won't get to see the area. I know some programs do offer that option in some circumstances, so at least it's something to consider.
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Congrats on the interviews! I struggled to find any decent websites with interview prep questions, especially for genetic counseling specifically. But after interviewing last year, I think my best advice is to be prepared to answer "tell me about yourself" which was how quite a few of the interviews started. Beyond that, be prepared to talk more in depth about experiences that are unique to you (counseling experiences, research projects, any shadowing you've done, etc) and any insights that you may have gained from them and how they're relevant to wanting to become a GC. I got tripped up last year when someone asked me what the most difficult situation I observed when shadowing was, so try to have some specific highlights for each in the back of your mind, especially for experiences you may have written about in your personal statement. I'm sure this goes without saying, but definitely be prepared to ask the interviewers questions as well. If you know who you're interviewing with, try to look them up and ask them questions relevant to their role with the program. Hopefully my advice helps a little. I think I saw someone else mention it somewhere in the forum, but also try not to get too overwhelmed by hearing other applicants backgrounds - that definitely tripped me up at one of my interview dates and then my interviews that day went pretty badly.
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I did, I reached out to the programs I interviewed with a few weeks after hearing back, I even contacted programs I didn't interview with to see how I could improve to hopefully get an interview should I apply again. (Side note to anyone else interested: I highly recommend doing this!! It gets your name out there and worse case scenario, they don't reply to your email) The programs I interviewed with suggested taking additional courses or just reading relevant literature/watching lectures on my own to stay up to date with the field, or reaching out to GC's in my area to shadow or attend weekly case conferences. One program also noted I should practice my interviewing skills - I pretty much bombed one of my interviews so that wasn't too surprising for me. Other than that, the general consensus with programs I've reached out to have been concerned by my science GPA - I was a psych major, bio minor. I seriously struggled with chemistry courses during my undergrad, so I've taken a few extra science courses to boost that. My GRE scores aren't stellar either, especially considering how competitive it is to get in. I retook them and got them above 60th percentile and decided that was good enough for me. Programs are all so different, but most of the programs I've talked to haven't stressed that too much even before I retook it (prior to I think I had a 54th percentile and 48th percentile).
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For Minnesota, I heard from them last year late Jan and interviewed in early Feb. The day started early, I think it was like 7:30 or 8am (I'm not a morning person, lol) - starting out with sitting down with the program director and associate director to talk in general about the program. They gave out packets to follow along with, describing clinical rotations, research projects, etc. Everyone had 3 total interviews, 1 either with the program director or the associate director then 2 others with different staff. Mine were with a psychology faculty member who sometimes works with students on their research projects and the other was a genetic counseling instructor who taught a lab for the program. Each interview was scheduled to last an hour maximum. Between interviews, we got coffee and hung out with the first year students, observed part of a class, and had lunch with two of the second year students. I think my day wrapped up around like 3:00 or so - so it was definitely a long day! The overall experience was a bit more laid back, less intimidating than I expected. Then for Wisconsin, it was a two-day process. The first day, in the late afternoon/early evening we met with the program director to discuss general info about the program (again, clinical rotations, research, whatever else came up). This wasn't very formal, it just gave us an introduction to the program and made it so it wasn't quite such a long day during interviews. This was nice because then I could come up with additional questions to ask on the second day during interviews. After that we had a dinner with a few students, I think it was a mix of first and second year students, to get their perspective. Then the next day we had the actual interviews, there were 4 total that I think were only 20-30 minutes each. At the very end of the day, we were split into smaller groups and a first year student took us to see where the clinics were on campus. Let me know if you want any more specific info! I definitely liked both programs quite a bit, so hopefully I'll get a second chance to interview. And maybe meet some of you along the way
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Hey everyone..I'm a little late to the party as well. Decided to post instead of just lurking here I applied the last two application cycles as well, last year I interviewed with the University of Minnesota (was waitlisted) and University of Wisconsin (rejected) - so if anyone wants info on what to expect from those interviews, let me know! This year I've applied to the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, University of Cincinnati, Case Western Reserve University, Sarah Lawrence College, and California State University-Stanislaus. Thus far, I've heard back from Case Western (they emailed me last week Thursday) and will be interviewing there March 24! By this time last year, I had already heard from Minnesota, so I've been nervously watching my email hoping for an invite.