bryvy

Hey everyone! Feel free to ask me any questions! I know how stressful the application cycle and interviews could be. 

Going off of @GeneDawg's post, feel free to message me with any questions! I would love to help out because I know how stressful this whole process. Feel free to join this GC forum as well https://discordapp.com/invite/QDHZy7S...it helped me so much during the many months of waiting!

Final reminder: 
If you'd like to fill out the following survey, please do so by tomorrow night! After which, I will not be accepting submissions. If you are interested in seeing the current results, submit a BLANK form. It will give you the option to see the results at the end. I've received about 80 responses so far, so there is a good amount of data to look at. 
https://goo.gl/forms/EqvqlklbLzEDKswx1

If you are interested in sharing your responses, please submit below!
I have left the responses able to edit as I know not all interviews have finished, so if you want to fill out now based on how you feel, you can always go back and edit after you've completed interviews. I will share the results once there are a decent amount of responses. 
Please be honest, but no trash talking programs (or individuals within the program!), I will delete those responses. It is completely anonymous though!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfveStRW-jk2FIeM0qE6w9L7gxkTFrdCP9KuZJwnjZjG1wZOA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Samesies <3 
It's okay. I couldn't justify the cost of living there anyway. 

i don't think many people apply casually..applications are expensive as is the GRE so i'm assuming that almost everyone who applies at least looks at program websites and sees that most schools only accept around 8-12 students/year. I feel like most people posting on here are just looking for a community of people we can relate to, because at least in my case i don't have any close friends or colleagues who are also applying for this program and i'm sure this is quite common. 
So in my opinion, it's hard to gauge how qualified people are based on whether or not they're posting on this forum. At the end of the day, qualified or not, many of us are just trying to connect with others and help each other out  Good luck to your person who is applying! I also know many people accepted into programs who only got one interview so # of invites doesn't mean much at the end of the day, just how well you connect with the interviewers at those interviews. 

Hey guys!
I wanted to let you know that NW is sending out emails for those waitlisted for interviews. According to the email, all of the interview slots have been filled and they will take place from March 28th- April 11. Hope this helps for anyone waiting! 

I was thinking 4 or 5.. I had been planning to turn down an interview from CSU when I thought I was going to get one from Utah, but that's not the case anymore. As long as they fit my schedule/I can get time off, I will accept any additional interviews I may receive. 

No but because i have already received a bunch of interviews closer to home, VCU is not one of my top choices anyways and i know there are others who would rank them high so i want them to get it instead

This ^ the director even half pointed out the need for GCs in Arizona when I emailed him about something else. I'm sure the fact I'm from here contributed in some part to getting an interview. I live in Tucson and can think of 3 practicing GCs who also live here.. None of which are in pediatrics or adult, so the full spectrum of specialties isn't even represented. And Tucson is by no means a small city, but it is obvious there is a "workforce need" and parts of the area could definitely be considered underserved. 
It sucks, but programs have to have some tie breakers between applicants somehow. I'm 90% sure Arkansas gives preference to AR residents, does that seem fair? Maybe not, but it's what they choose to do and have every right to as long as they aren't blatantly discriminating someone for other issues such as race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

@Joey0817 Personally, the 3.3/3.4 GPA really isn't that bad. The average GPA of admitted students is only 3.5. What really matters is the grades you received in pre-req classes. If you have anything less than a B in a pre-req, in my experience most programs write you off right away. The other thing I notice is that you're only applying to Canadian schools, which is SO tough because they all only accept ~4-5 students, so with those 4 schools, there are only 16 spots available. If feasible, you may want to look at applying to some US schools next year  @TAGC can tell you about their experience with only applying to Canadian schools vs. adding some American ones). Lastly, with your experience and decent GPA (assuming you don't have all low-prereq grades), I would recommend approaching your personal statement in a different way. Applicants can have a fantastic background and experience, but if their personal statement doesn't stand out or wow them, you also won't be selected. I had a poor personal statement last year which I think was part of my problem. Ask mentors/other people to look over your personal statement and give you suggestions. One of my best friends applied to medical school last year and her essay was selected as one of two highlighted in a news article about medical school essays that admissions people loved. I asked her to look over my personal statement (before I even knew her essay was selected for that article!) and she gave me some really good pointers and suggestions and my essay doesn't look ANYTHING like it did last year. If you have great qualifications, your personal statement can be a make-or-break between you and other applicants.
Those are just my suggestions, obviously schools might have other things to say. But like others have said, ask for feedback around May. 

Where do you think your application was lacking? 
That's the biggest area to focus on. Of course come May, reach out for feedback. But I knew going into getting feedback last year where my issues were (no GC experience, some low prereq grades, okay GPA, and no "traditional" advocacy experience). It's best to start NOW with getting things you already think are a weakness in order (I started working on the GC experience in February last  year). 
Once your narrow down what you think, the feedback from programs is best used to compare against your own list and then go from there. When the school's echoed my thoughts, it helped to solidify that the steps I was taking to improve were indeed the right ones. 
ALSO, something I wish I did but didn't, apply to the GC internships!! There's Northwestern, Iowa, Baylor, UT, Cinci and more. Most applications are open now and close likely around March. That's a GREAT way to get some more GC experience and looks very good on applications. Also, turn your attention to jobs too. Find a GCA position, advocacy position, lab tech, or in a related health care field will definitely boost your app as well. 

I see some have heard from South Carolina! Congrats! What are their interview dates?? 
EDITED: I was a little nervous about not hearing from them until I checked my spam folder....invite was there! Please check if you are worried! 

Now here is my obligatory post on whether anyone knows if Colorado and Arcadia have sent out all the offers at once? 

INTERVIEW AT WAYNE. My first one, so happy.
 

Also got a no from Stanford! I was initially discouraged about the results page on this website, at the time I checked, three recent submissions were interviews from Stanford with only one rejection. Then I realized that people who have gotten interviews are more likely to rush to submit their result, versus those of us that might be feeling a little stung about a rejection.
Something to keep in mind when trying to compare your results to others' invitations and acceptances over the next few months - it's easy to feel like you're in the minority, but there's lots of us receiving rejections! Keep your heads up

Hello all! @HSGC2017 and I managed to put together a discord server where we can all chat informally:
https://discord.gg/Q4Nb8D5

Thank you so much. I am thankful they saw my application worthy enough to accept my Skype request. This gives me so much hope at this point of time. ☺️

I got that email too, unfortunately I've already been rejected so I was less than thrilled to be getting anymore mail from them

Congratulations to dragongc10, Brideir, and all of you who have received interview invitations!  It seems most of my schools are sending out invitations a little later, so I'll be on pins and needles for awhile until I get (hope hope) that first invitation...

Thank you.  Getting at least one interview offer will definitely be more motivating, but I feel like I need extra time to prepare for interviews so that I can be focused and concise.  
Good luck to all of us that are still hoping for that first interview offer!

Hey, current UCI student checking in with some info on our interviews this year-
UCI will be conducting their interviews on Mondays in Feb, March and April, the first date being Feb 12th. Last year I received my invitation to interview 6 days before the first interview date, so I wouldn't expect to hear from UCI much before the week of Feb 5th.
The current students will be inviting you to join us for dinner the preceding Sunday night

I echo the sentiment many of you have expressed, that doubling the number of applications has not increased my peace of mind ~ in fact, with so much more of my life invested in this endeavor, I feel about five times the anxiety as I did last year. 
As I worked through my applications, I was encouraged by the facts that even with my lower GPA/GRE scores, I had two interviews last year, and since then I have increased my GPA with classes in statistics and psychology, and most significantly, I followed the grad school’s feedback and was able to get some fantastic shadowing experience, as well as tripling my advocacy experience.  I believe my LORs are stronger this year as well. 
But now I am experiencing the fear that all of that may not be enough to offset my lower scores.  What calms me down is to think about why I want to become a genetic counselor.  I have a vision of serving my world by empowering families with knowledge about their genetics.   I feel strongly that with my rich experience in genomic research, I bring with me a unique strength to the field.  We’ll see!   
I know that while I wait to see whether or not I am offered that opportunity, there is much I can do to prepare for potential interviews.  I would like to be better prepared for the interview question, “Do you have any questions for me about our program?”  I thought one way to start might be to make a spreadsheet to compare the programs, and compose questions to fill in the blanks…  Any ideas or tips?  I would love to hear from you regarding how you are preparing for your interviews.

Thank you so much. But I don't see it that way. It's actually my mother who has given me the courage to pursue my dreams. My father passed away when I was 11, and my mother went from being a housewife to working as a bank clerk 12 hours/day, against the wishes of my patriarchal family. We had to end all ties with our family because of this. And it has been 13 years now, my mom still works her 12hour job, has raised me all by herself and is here ready to support me for my outrageous "GC in US" ambition. Along these years, I have faced criticism that why didn't I just study engineering or some established field in India and go work and earn for my mom, but my mother always pushed me for finding a field where I belong, because after her experience she realized that for a woman her job is not just a means of income but a big part of her independence and identity. I think her point is that find work that I am passionate about and stick with it because your work will stick it out with you through your life's toughest times. 
All the best to you too! 
I see that some 54 of us are following this forum topic, and I hope all of us make it. Would love to meet you folks in-person.  

The program director at Boston emailed me an hour ago saying that interview invites will be sent out no later than Feb 15th!