curlyQ20

Congratulations!! I was seeking a GCA position as well. Good luck with your interview!

Hi everyone!! I have been a long time lurker on the 2018 page and after much deliberation and thought... I ended up choosing not to apply this cycle. I felt very "unqualified" as I learned about the field and how competitive it is to get in and I felt as though I had no chance of getting interviewed or accepted. I am currently a senior at Penn State. My major is Biobehavioral Health (a multidisciplinary field where we look at every aspect pertaining to health and all of the factors that can influence health... we are very well-rounded in psychology and the sciences) as well as am finishing up a minor in Biology. My GPA is 3.88 (trying to keep that up to balance out my average and slightly above average GRE scores of 151V/157Q/4W). I feel like I will end up taking the GRE again. I have shadowed for four days in Prenatal, Pediatrics, and Autism and Developmental Medicine through Geisinger. I have been a teaching assistant for a year for a physiology course and this semester I am a TA for a 400 level genetics class in my major. I was also a residential assistant for a year. I have been volunteering at my local crisis hotline for a year now. At my hotline, during the day we mainly navigate an online database containing referrals to assist clients calling in needing help with rent, electrical bills, moving expenses, chore assistance, food, and other basic needs. What makes this experience unique is that I have the opportunity to work with my clients both on the phone and in person. During the night however, my hotline does receive the standard crisis calls so I do have experience with that type of counseling. I currently have no plans for after graduation in May. I have applied for several GCA positions as well as GC internships. Any recommendations on what to do during gap years? I feel like I will end up taking two years off (or more if I don't get accepted obviously lol). I also applied to these types of things last summer, but to no avail. I still feel very unqualified as I pursue this career aspiration to become a Genetic Counselor. I cannot wait to follow this thread and learn more about you all <3 I have complete confidence that we will all get to our dream job in the future, as long as we keep working hard and remember why we are pursuing this career <3