Genetic Counseling Fall 2017 Applicants

[Lakers1960]

Just now, GCInTraining said:

I work Sundays from 12-2 and Tuesdays from 6-8 (MST). What about you?

Oh good to know! Were they mostly interested in your experiences and what you've learned or more big picture things about CTL?

I'm Sundays from 8a - 12p EST! So if your Sunday shift is afternoon we're probably on at the same time. That's wild. 

They all asked me how it worked, lol. & then a couple of people asked what I thought the drawbacks and benefits of that type of counseling are. 

[GCInTraining]

1 minute ago, Lakers1960 said:

I'm Sundays from 8a - 12p EST! So if your Sunday shift is afternoon we're probably on at the same time. That's wild. 

They all asked me how it worked, lol. & then a couple of people asked what I thought the drawbacks and benefits of that type of counseling are. 

Yep, it's afternoon. That's awesome! We've probably even talked to each other on the threads there O.o

Haha yeah, I figured there would be some confusion about it. I've been thinking about ways to explain why I chose a texting crisis line over a calling one because it does seem a little more removed.

[WBGC]

@GCInTraining @Lakers1960 I am a crisis text line counselor as well! My shifts don't overlap with yours.. But thanks for passing on the info, I'll definitely be prepared to talk about it  it is an interesting counseling experience for sure! There is a great TED talk from the creator of CTL discussing the benefits and how it works. https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_lublin_texting_that_saves_lives

 

Edited February 25, 2017 by WBGC

[JN212]

For those of you that volunteer for crisis text line, how long does it actually take to do the training before you can actually volunteer? I looked at their website and it said about 6 weeks but it also, said about 30 hours of online training. Also, is it relatively easy to apply and join? 

[GCInTraining]

10 hours ago, WBGC said:

@GCInTraining @Lakers1960 I am a crisis text line counselor as well! My shifts don't overlap with yours.. But thanks for passing on the info, I'll definitely be prepared to talk about it  it is an interesting counseling experience for sure! There is a great TED talk from the creator of CTL discussing the benefits and how it works. https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_lublin_texting_that_saves_lives

 

No way! It's so fun to meet other CTL people! I actually saw that talk before I volunteered  Nancy is awesome!

[GCInTraining]

3 hours ago, JN212 said:

For those of you that volunteer for crisis text line, how long does it actually take to do the training before you can actually volunteer? I looked at their website and it said about 6 weeks but it also, said about 30 hours of online training. Also, is it relatively easy to apply and join? 

It's been a while since I trained so I can't remember a whole lot but I think it was either 6 or 8 weeks of training and around 5 hours of training each week. It also took me quite a few shifts to really feel like I knew what I was doing. I know there was a background check involved but I can't remember if there were recommendations. They told me about 33% of applicants make it through the process. You really have to stay on top of it so I wouldn't recommend trying to squeeze it in this application cycle. But if you end up being a second round applicant for next year, I would definitely recommend it! I was terrified of counseling people in crisis when I started and now I feel like a pro. I've learned so much and I think it's great prep for genetic counseling.

[gc2017]

Crisis Counselor over here too I do MW 10am-12pm most weeks. As for training when I went through (august 2016) it was an 8 week training. As for the application yes you need two references- one from a supervisor like person and the other can be personal reference. 

[gc2017]

On 2/9/2017 at 6:34 PM, GC20171 said:

I have PDFs of each chapter, if anyone's interested!

@GC20171 would you mind sending them to me as well? sarahkay1125@ymail.com

[AspiringGC]

No GC news still, but I did end up getting into that phlebotomy class I mentioned and am officially certified as a phlebotomy technician. 

[Gadgette]

@AspiringGC that's awesome!! I'd really like to do that at some point.

 

So if any of you are going to interviews with the option of dinner with everyone the night before, I highly recommend it! It really helped me relax and made the whole process less stressful!

[WBGC]

@GC20171 sorry for late response but I'd love the PDFs as well please! chandler.means@yahoo.com

[TK1616]

For those who haven't heard from Hopkins and Icahn yet I called both offices today 

Hopkins said they put in a lot of decisions today so we would hear possibly tomorrow or Wednesday 

Icahn said they were still screening candidates as well

Hope this puts some people at ease!! 

[Gadgette]

Just heard from Utah and I didn't get an interview. It's a weird feeling because I resigned myself to not getting in when I was wait-listed for interviews, so I'm disappointed, but it's more that my disappointment is just confirmed.

 

I emailed UPitt 2 weeks ago and they said they were hoping to send invites out that week, and I saw at least one. But I still haven't heard. How early is too early to ask them again?

[bubusaur]

I have 2 interviews back to back next week and my nerves are going through the roof.

Can someone who had an interview (or interviews) describe how their experience was like? The night-before dinner, showing up the next day, reception? How the interviews are sort of structured and was it more like casual conversation or was it like grill grill grill questions?

I know this topic came up before in the thread too, but were most people dressed how you expect them to be before you had the interview? I just went all out shopping for business casual clothes and now I'm dreading that I'd feel self-conscious in them. Also, walking around NY with a skirt in March sounds painful.

I'd really appreciate the help. Even if it's just supporting comments

[Gadgette]

The whole process was a lot less scary than I thought!

Dinner the night before was super relaxed and the students were very open to questions. The program I interviewed with (VCU) had it set up to where you interview with 6 different faculty separately. It was definitely a long day for everyone, but it was nice. A lot of it was talking about yourself and your interests. I think each person asked me one situational or hypothetical question. We had students escorting us everywhere so we didn't get lost, and they were fantastic!  Overall it was a really pleasant experience, just tiring. Make sure you bring water.

CLothing wise, I wore a suit. I opted for pants since I didn't know how it would be weather wise. Everyone else who was interviewing was dressed about the same.

[bubusaur]

44 minutes ago, Gadgette said:

The whole process was a lot less scary than I thought!

Dinner the night before was super relaxed and the students were very open to questions. The program I interviewed with (VCU) had it set up to where you interview with 6 different faculty separately. It was definitely a long day for everyone, but it was nice. A lot of it was talking about yourself and your interests. I think each person asked me one situational or hypothetical question. We had students escorting us everywhere so we didn't get lost, and they were fantastic!  Overall it was a really pleasant experience, just tiring. Make sure you bring water.

CLothing wise, I wore a suit. I opted for pants since I didn't know how it would be weather wise. Everyone else who was interviewing was dressed about the same.

6 different interviews definitely sounds likes a long day! That must've been stressful but it sounds like it went better than you thought. Congrats!!

Did you see a pattern on what kind of questions each staff was asking? I'm guessing they wouldn't all be the same questions, but it'd be odd to jump into an interview without the "Tell me about yourself" a little.

[Gadgette]

16 minutes ago, bubusaur said:

6 different interviews definitely sounds likes a long day! That must've been stressful but it sounds like it went better than you thought. Congrats!!

Did you see a pattern on what kind of questions each staff was asking? I'm guessing they wouldn't all be the same questions, but it'd be odd to jump into an interview without the "Tell me about yourself" a little.

I did the "tell me about yourself" for each of them. They all asked about why I wanted to go to that program, and I ended up talking about life in Richmond with everyone as well, although that might be because it's such a far move for me. It felt like they really were focusing on if you're a good fit for the program and for the field in general, and making sure that you understand what is genetic counseling.

[bubusaur]

14 minutes ago, Gadgette said:

I did the "tell me about yourself" for each of them. They all asked about why I wanted to go to that program, and I ended up talking about life in Richmond with everyone as well, although that might be because it's such a far move for me. It felt like they really were focusing on if you're a good fit for the program and for the field in general, and making sure that you understand what is genetic counseling.

Ahh. So the interview was more personal-oriented, getting to know you and your life. I heard from a student last year that Stanford's interview was more a series of questions that made her feel like she's under interrogation. Very impersonal and very business oriented. So what you're describing is definitely better, but it also depends on the school I guess.

How did you prepare for the "why do you want to go that program" question? I did some of my research when writing my personal statement, but the answers seem really shallow. I just read the GC page of each program and commented on how I like when their rotation starts, where they have their rotations, etc. Did you do anything else to prepare for a more personal answer? And likewise, what kind of questions did you ask them?

Sorry for a bunch of bombardment. Nerves talking.

[UTGC]

10 minutes ago, bubusaur said:

Ahh. So the interview was more personal-oriented, getting to know you and your life. I heard from a student last year that Stanford's interview was more a series of questions that made her feel like she's under interrogation. Very impersonal and very business oriented. So what you're describing is definitely better, but it also depends on the school I guess.

How did you prepare for the "why do you want to go that program" question? I did some of my research when writing my personal statement, but the answers seem really shallow. I just read the GC page of each program and commented on how I like when their rotation starts, where they have their rotations, etc. Did you do anything else to prepare for a more personal answer? And likewise, what kind of questions did you ask them?

Sorry for a bunch of bombardment. Nerves talking.

This is tricky to do from just the program websites because they are often very similar. It's tough to say why you gravitated towards one or the other. Do the best you can before you arrive for the interview, but also know that you will have opportunities to talk to current students (usually at dinner the night before or when you are staying with them) about what makes the program unique and the program directors usually give a 30min-1hour talk before interviews start that is much more comprehensive than what is on the website. You can totally use things they highlight during that talk as reasons you are drawn to that program.

Also: it's a totally acceptable answer to mention that the location is convenient for you because of COL, being near family, whatever it may be. Just don't have that be your only reason.

Edited February 27, 2017 by UTGC

[Gadgette]

I didn't really have a solid answer for why I wanted to go there until I visited! I know that's not much help. It helped that everything everyone was saying at dinner and right before interviews solidified that I wanted to go there.

 

One of the second year students said that, when she interviewed, they sent everyone a paper ahead of time, then finished the day by discussing the papers. So glad they don't do that anymore!

[Ellaie]

27 minutes ago, bubusaur said:

 

How did you prepare for the "why do you want to go that program" question? I did some of my research when writing my personal statement, but the answers seem really shallow. I just read the GC page of each program and commented on how I like when their rotation starts, where they have their rotations, etc. Did you do anything else to prepare for a more personal answer? And likewise, what kind of questions did you ask them?

 

I think finding your own personal reason for why you want to attend a specific program will greatly strengthen your interview.  Having it be your own very specific reason will make being able to talk about it much more natural as well.  For the most part, I think the people interviewing you will be able to tell if the answers you give are the ones that interview prep websites have said is the 'proper' answer to give.  In my opinion, the best way to prepare would be to read about the program and find things about the program that interest you and stand out.  You might have to dig deeper than just the program website.  Look into the school and it's history.  Location can also be a big reason for wanting to go somewhere.  Maybe read student bios or research where former students ended up working after graduation.  

 

I actually find that I'm not that nervous about my genetic counseling interviews because I know this is what I want to do.  That makes it so much easier to talk about.  I get excited about the fact that I get to talk with so many different people about a profession that I am extremely interested in.  It's very refreshing after having to explain to so many people in my day to day life what genetic counseling even is.

[bubusaur]

11 minutes ago, UTGC said:

This is tricky to do from just the program websites because they are often very similar. It's tough to say why you gravitated towards one or the other. Do the best you can before you arrive for the interview, but also know that you will have opportunities to talk to current students (usually at dinner the night before or when you are staying with them) about what makes the program unique and the program directors usually give a 30min-1hour talk before interviews start that is much more comprehensive than what is on the website. You can totally use things they highlight during that talk as reasons you are drawn to that program.

Also: it's a totally acceptable answer to mention that the location is convenient for you because of COL, being near family, whatever it may be. Just don't have that be your only reason.

Thanks for reassuring me. I'm glad I'm not the only one that felt the program website wasn't super informative. I have my own reasons to apply to those schools, but like you said, it doesn't help too much when it comes to each program's uniqueness.

 

6 minutes ago, Gadgette said:

I didn't really have a solid answer for why I wanted to go there until I visited! I know that's not much help. It helped that everything everyone was saying at dinner and right before interviews solidified that I wanted to go there.

 

One of the second year students said that, when she interviewed, they sent everyone a paper ahead of time, then finished the day by discussing the papers. So glad they don't do that anymore!

Oh yeah...that would be an additional stress to what was already stressful.

 

 

[Gadgette]

Yeah, to kind of clarify my previous statement, I knew the reasons I wanted to apply to VCU before I visited, but having never been to the east coast (other than Disneyworld, if that even counts), I wasn't sure of all of my reasons until I got there. Have an idea of why you want to go there, but if you get there and something really stands out that makes you want to be there, go with it!

[GCFaith92]

Does anybody know if USF is still sending our interviews? Also Has anybody heard from Thomas Jefferson yet?

[gc2017]

I'm probably over thinking this but- wearing my engagement ring during interview: yes or no? I am getting married on a Saturday in September (was planned before I really knew I wanted to go to grad school this coming fall), and everything will be planned before classes begin so it shouldn't be an issue, but I am worried they may see it as one. What are y'all's thoughts?