Lauren423

Your age alone won't make a difference.    I was told when I first looked into applying a few years ago, that, say, 7 years back my previous career experience and some course TAing I had done would probably have been taken to fulfill requirements.  However, it has gotten competitive so rapidly that this isn't necessarily the case any more.  So, I've spent my last two years getting other experiences and courses I needed while working fulltime and holding down the fort.  There were people at my last interview who were fresh out of college or still wrapping up their degrees, people who were applying for the second time (myself included), and people across a range of backgrounds and experiences. This honestly is like any highly competitive process, and it depends on who is in the pool with you, every single time.  Keep at it if its really what you want to do! 

Yes, I can definitely relate to this. I am 22 and applied straight out of a 5 year undergraduate program (additional year due to co-op) with over 2 years of genetics research, a paper published, genetic counselling assistant experience, over 1 year at a crisis line, peer counsellor at my university AND MORE, but I also got rejected. I was not even offered any interviews at the 4 Canadian Schools I applied to. It really sucks but all we can do at this point is stay positive, reach out to program directors and improve our application for next year. It is so common that qualified applicants do not gain admissions during their first round, so don't give up! 

Hey everyone, weird question here. What age are you for those of you getting interviews?
The reason I ask is because I am 21 and graduating in May. In my opinion and in all the people I have shadowed and worked for, they all said I have a ton of experience and no doubt will get in. I applied to 5 schools and today I got rejected to the 5th.
i have heard and seen online that admissions personnel prefer applicants  who are older and not right out of school. 
I plan to apply again in the fall and get a some sort of job like a GC assistant but I’m worried that no matter what I do, I won’t get accepted cause I’ll be a “baby” at 22. 
Are of any of you my age or close that are so far successful in the application process? I’d rather be rejected based on experience cause I can improve on that but I can’t fast forward time and make myself older sooner.

@Lauren423 Hello! Fellow "baby" here. I don't know what you define as "successful", but I do have interviews lined up. On the same note, I am prepared to be confronted about my relative emotional maturity and ability to relate to elderly folks.
I was talking to a GC the other day and she mentioned the landscape of GC students is changing. When she was applying (3-4 years ago), as a 27-year-old, she was the oldest person in her class. She mentioned that for some schools she was waitlisted at, the cohort was mainly people in their early twenties. Nowadays, she noticed that the cohorts are older on average. Or fluctuate by year.

Hey everyone, weird question here. What age are you for those of you getting interviews?
The reason I ask is because I am 21 and graduating in May. In my opinion and in all the people I have shadowed and worked for, they all said I have a ton of experience and no doubt will get in. I applied to 5 schools and today I got rejected to the 5th.
i have heard and seen online that admissions personnel prefer applicants  who are older and not right out of school. 
I plan to apply again in the fall and get a some sort of job like a GC assistant but I’m worried that no matter what I do, I won’t get accepted cause I’ll be a “baby” at 22. 
Are of any of you my age or close that are so far successful in the application process? I’d rather be rejected based on experience cause I can improve on that but I can’t fast forward time and make myself older sooner.

2nd time is the charm right? 

For those of you who have taken a year or more off after undergrad before applying or for those of you who are applying for the 2nd time, what did you do during your time off? I am a senior in undergrad and I work part time at a family practice doctors office but I don't know if I should continue this job for all of next year or find a new one. I applied to 5 and have been rejected to 4 so far so I don't know if my current job is helping me at all since none of the schools even gave me an interview. I don't know of any jobs that are similar to GC that only require a bachelors degree.

And so it begins, GC applicants for 2019! Welcome first time applicants, applicants who didn't get interviews, multiple cycle applicants, applicants who didn't matched, and basically everyone interested in genetic counseling. In such a competitive field I think there is no such thing as starting too early! 

Honestly I don't understand why you haven't heard from any schools yet. Let's hope you hear from the remaining two. 
The most important thing is your personal statement. Last year I had a personal statement which basically reiterated my work experiences, and about what I learned from them. But this year it is very different. I have spoken about how each experience means something for me personally. Your personal statement is a story of your connect with your work, academic and life experiences. They want to see that you are mature enough to reflect on each of your experiences and understand why you are here wanting to be a GC. They already know that you have gained a lot of skills from your work, they want to know about your personal growth. 
Luckily I found some really amazing current students of 2 programs who agreed to review my personal statement n I found one practicing GC to do it to. Their feedback was really helpful and I made a lot of changes based on their feedback. I even had it reviewed from my friends who don't belong to the science field. They had some great insights too. So I think you should also try to get feedback from multiple people from different walks of life. 
Another important factor is your recommendations - they are a proof of all the skills that you speak of in your resume ! So look into that too. I think if you don't waive your right to view the recommendations, you can ask the current schools to show you the letters and see if you feel you want to change one of your recommenders for next cycle. 
And don't give up hope yet. Maybe you will get an interview. You just need one interview to which you do justice and you get the admission.

So far I’ve been rejected to Rutgers, Denver, and Indiana State. Still waiting on Indiana Uni and Pitt. But I have a bad feeling about Indiana since it’s been so long since others got interview invites and the dates are soon. Fingers crossed for Pitt!

I too got my rejection from Rutgers and Colorado today. Still waiting on Indiana State, Uni of Indiana, and Pittsburgh. Anyone know around when I should hear from them. Definitely feeling pretty pessimistic at this point.