Genetic Counseling Fall 2017 Applicants

[Ultrapeaches]

Anyone else heading to Boston next week to interview at either Brandeis or BU?

[Gadgette]

Did anyone else apply to Pittsburgh'S dual master's?

[WBGC]

@Ultrapeaches in Boston now! Interviewing at BU on Monday.. When's yours? 

[Ultrapeaches]

13 hours ago, WBGC said:

@Ultrapeaches in Boston now! Interviewing at BU on Monday.. When's yours? 

I'm going to BU on Friday, Brandeis on Wednesday. 

[Ultrapeaches]

Southwest cancelled my flight to Boston tomorrow! Luckily they let me reschedule my flight to today so I'll still make my interviews. Hope you don't get trapped in the city, @WBGC!

[WBGC]

@Ultrapeaches yes! My flight was last night so I'm back in California luckily. But it was craziness at the airports with people trying to get out/ in to the city. I'm glad you made it!

[CiciGC]

On 3/11/2017 at 8:23 PM, Gadgette said:

Did anyone else apply to Pittsburgh'S dual master's?

Not the dual masters, but the GC program. I'm interviewing at Pitt tomorrow. I got in before any major weather from Stella hits. It's cold and a little snowy. Anyone else in Pittsburgh right now?

[Gadgette]

30 minutes ago, CiciGC said:

Not the dual masters, but the GC program. I'm interviewing at Pitt tomorrow. I got in before any major weather from Stella hits. It's cold and a little snowy. Anyone else in Pittsburgh right now?

I'll be there on the 7th. Good luck tomorrow, I'd love to hear about it when you're done and have had a chance to decompress!

 

[Blizzard]

Off topic but related: Has one had issues with the NSGC genetic counselor search? I keep trying to use it to find people to shadow and it just sits there, spinning.

[Gadgette]

13 minutes ago, Blizzard said:

Off topic but related: Has one had issues with the NSGC genetic counselor search? I keep trying to use it to find people to shadow and it just sits there, spinning.

I just tried it and it popped up right away. I also have a very small number of GCs that come up in any given search (1 if I do a 50 mile radius, 25 if I do 100 miles).

[allele1]

Is anyone else still waiting on Irvine? I know people heard a couple of weeks ago so I'm expecting a rejection but it'd at least be nice to know. 

[kds27]

24 minutes ago, alalav said:

Is anyone else still waiting on Irvine? I know people heard a couple of weeks ago so I'm expecting a rejection but it'd at least be nice to know. 

Yes I am still waiting too!

[DNA15]

15 minutes ago, kds27 said:

Yes I am still waiting too!

I am in the same boat, and USF. I know they are rejections but I do find it odd that nothing has been sent out at this point. Two years ago my official interview rejection from UC Irvine didn't arrive until acceptance day.

[Gadgette]

@alalav It's like being in a relationship where the other person won't talk to you anymore, but they won't break up with you either. Just break up with me, UCI, and let me move on!

[kds27]

2 hours ago, DNA15 said:

I am in the same boat, and USF. I know they are rejections but I do find it odd that nothing has been sent out at this point. Two years ago my official interview rejection from UC Irvine didn't arrive until acceptance day.

What!! Really?!?! I just want to know! Waiting is so hard! Do you know if they have contacted people about a waitlist?

Edited March 14, 2017 by kds27

[DNA15]

1 hour ago, kds27 said:

What!! Really?!?! I just want to know! Waiting is so hard! Do you know if they have contacted people about a waitlist?

I'm not sure. I emailed them last week sometime but sounds like other people have reached out and haven't had any luck speaking with anyone either.

[allele1]

6 hours ago, Gadgette said:

@alalav It's like being in a relationship where the other person won't talk to you anymore, but they won't break up with you either. Just break up with me, UCI, and let me move on!

Love this analogy, so true! I need to plan pretty far in advance for work so it's getting inconvenient!

[GCFaith92]

I am still impatiently awaiting information from Thomas Jefferson. They said by the 17th. I wonder if they are contacting everyone on that day or up to that day. AHHH the wait is awful

[ebfw15]

32 minutes ago, GCFaith92 said:

I am still impatiently awaiting information from Thomas Jefferson. They said by the 17th. I wonder if they are contacting everyone on that day or up to that day. AHHH the wait is awful

Considering today is the deadline for for TJU applications, I'm not surprised they haven't sent anything out yet. My guess is tomorrow or Friday. 

[GCFaith92]

8 minutes ago, ebfw15 said:

Considering today is the deadline for for TJU applications, I'm not surprised they haven't sent anything out yet. My guess is tomorrow or Friday. 

Yea. Well when I emailed them they had said all applicants will hear by the 17th so I thought maybe they'd start reaching out to people as they got applications in. But yeah if I wasn't impatient I'd assume maybe tomorrow and Friday ahaha

[Gorays39]

@minja134 I did end up getting that virtual interview request with the medical director.  I'm surprised they gave us such limited options, right in the middle of the day too.  I'm also wondering why they didn't mention this at the ISU interview?  Do you think this is like a 'second round' of interviews or something?

[Joey0817]

Hi everyone!

I am a fourth year student who is interested in a Masters of genetic counseling program as all of you are and I've been reading this thread for awhile now. I just wanted to gain some insight on whether or not I should pursue this avenue because my grades aren't the best and I'll be applying for admission for fall 2018.

current info:

cgpa: 3.30 (if I apply for Fall 2018, I still have 8 months of school and I am confident I can raise it to 3.70 for the next cycle)

volunteer experience: distressline and helpline for women dealing with unexpected pregnancies (will be shadowing a genetic counselor and gaining experience with children with disabilities and advocacy work in fall 2017)

Additional experience: Have 1.5 years of research work in plant and bacterial genetics with one paper published (not really relevant to human genetics though)

Currently studying for my GRE which I will write in 4 months time (end of august)

I am going through a bit of a depression stage because seeing everyone else's stats makes me feel less confident, especially since my grades aren't the most competitive and I don't see myself pursuing any other career besides genetic counseling. Let me know how you guys deal with this kind of emotionality! It would be greatly appreciated!

[kbash]

26 minutes ago, Joey0817 said:

Hi everyone!

I am a fourth year student who is interested in a Masters of genetic counseling program as all of you are and I've been reading this thread for awhile now. I just wanted to gain some insight on whether or not I should pursue this avenue because my grades aren't the best and I'll be applying for admission for fall 2018.

current info:

cgpa: 3.30 (if I apply for Fall 2018, I still have 8 months of school and I am confident I can raise it to 3.70 for the next cycle)

volunteer experience: distressline and helpline for women dealing with unexpected pregnancies (will be shadowing a genetic counselor and gaining experience with children with disabilities and advocacy work in fall 2017)

Additional experience: Have 1.5 years of research work in plant and bacterial genetics with one paper published (not really relevant to human genetics though)

Currently studying for my GRE which I will write in 4 months time (end of august)

I am going through a bit of a depression stage because seeing everyone else's stats makes me feel less confident, especially since my grades aren't the most competitive and I don't see myself pursuing any other career besides genetic counseling. Let me know how you guys deal with this kind of emotionality! It would be greatly appreciated!

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! 

[GCFaith92]

@Joey0817 Go for it. If you want to truly be a genetic counselor, the competition should not hold you back. We go into this field knowing how competitive it is and knowing that many counselors take 2 to 3 years to even get in due to the limited number of programs and spots for students.  Sounds like you are qualified, but if it's something you are unsure of doing I recommend taking a year off before applying, that way you can continue to build your resume, seek other options and not spend so much on applications if you aren't sure.

[Frestyle]

2 hours ago, Joey0817 said:

Hi everyone!

I am a fourth year student who is interested in a Masters of genetic counseling program as all of you are and I've been reading this thread for awhile now. I just wanted to gain some insight on whether or not I should pursue this avenue because my grades aren't the best and I'll be applying for admission for fall 2018.

current info:

cgpa: 3.30 (if I apply for Fall 2018, I still have 8 months of school and I am confident I can raise it to 3.70 for the next cycle)

volunteer experience: distressline and helpline for women dealing with unexpected pregnancies (will be shadowing a genetic counselor and gaining experience with children with disabilities and advocacy work in fall 2017)

Additional experience: Have 1.5 years of research work in plant and bacterial genetics with one paper published (not really relevant to human genetics though)

Currently studying for my GRE which I will write in 4 months time (end of august)

I am going through a bit of a depression stage because seeing everyone else's stats makes me feel less confident, especially since my grades aren't the most competitive and I don't see myself pursuing any other career besides genetic counseling. Let me know how you guys deal with this kind of emotionality! It would be greatly appreciated!

I think you should apply! I was going through the exact same thing a few years ago. I wasn't quite sure how competitive my stats were, but I felt like I was below the average. After I had gotten my Bachelor's degree, I took a few years off to work in the industry and do some additional work to boost my resume and compensate for my "OK" GPA and GRE scores. Honestly, it's hard to say what each school is looking for. I've seen people with great stats get turned away and others with less impressive scores get accepted. If you're truly passionate about the field, you should at least try! Plus, if you don't get in the first time, there's absolutely nothing wrong with applying again (which is what I'll be doing if I don't get in this cycle). Good luck!!