Genetic Counseling Fall 2017 Applicants

[JN212]

20 hours ago, Gadgette said:

So I'm curious, have you all thought about what type of Genetic Counseling you'd like to do? I know it's likely to change throughout school and GCs often switch multiple times in their careers.

I love working with people with developmental disabilities, so I'm thinking metabolic or neurogenetics would be right up my ally. I'm also really interested in the genetics of mental health, especially given the amount of people with companies DD and mental health diagnoses.

That's a good question, I not completely sure but most of my time with shadowing and observing was with prenatal and pediatrics which was interesting. Also, I'm minoring in public health and have found some cool stuff genetic counselors do in that field. I don't know there's so many possibilities and fields to go into. I actually leanred about genetic counseling when my mom went to visit one, after my grandma passed away from ovarian cancer so, since then I really wanted to help other families in the same situation. 

[AspiringGC]

Was just looking on the Accredited programs page on ACGC's website and saw there's a new program open at Thomas Jefferson University in PA.
Their program's only 19-months, so about 2 months shorter than most, but it says shadowing under a genetic counselor or medical geneticist is required. 

I probably won't apply but for anyone in the area definitely look into it! 
Here's their website: http://www.jefferson.edu/university/biomedical-sciences/degrees-programs/master-programs/genetic-counseling/applying.html

[JN212]

13 hours ago, slaybackc said:

Was just looking on the Accredited programs page on ACGC's website and saw there's a new program open at Thomas Jefferson University in PA.
Their program's only 19-months, so about 2 months shorter than most, but it says shadowing under a genetic counselor or medical geneticist is required. 

I probably won't apply but for anyone in the area definitely look into it! 
Here's their website: http://www.jefferson.edu/university/biomedical-sciences/degrees-programs/master-programs/genetic-counseling/applying.html

Cool, they must have just added this program, thank you for posting this. I hoping other accreditions will be coming soon, there needs to be more genetic counseling programs due to the high demand. 

[AspiringGC]

2 hours ago, JN212 said:

Cool, they must have just added this program, thank you for posting this. I hoping other accreditions will be coming soon, there needs to be more genetic counseling programs due to the high demand. 

My mentor who is a genetic counselor and the new director of the program opening at the University of Arizona Fall 2018 said that (as of last fall) there were 19 programs in the works! Since about 3 have opened since then, there's probably ~16 more, plus any others that just started the process to open to! 

So it's definitely a good time to be getting into the field as more and more programs open their doors!

[JN212]

9 minutes ago, slaybackc said:

My mentor who is a genetic counselor and the new director of the program opening at the University of Arizona Fall 2018 said that (as of last fall) there were 19 programs in the works! Since about 3 have opened since then, there's probably ~16 more, plus any others that just started the process to open to! 

So it's definitely a good time to be getting into the field as more and more programs open their doors!

Oh wow, that's awesome, I had no idea there were so many schools preparing for new programs. Just curious but did your mentor mention exactly where these new programs might be occurring? 

[AspiringGC]

6 minutes ago, JN212 said:

Oh wow, that's awesome, I had no idea there were so many schools preparing for new programs. Just curious but did your mentor mention exactly where these new programs might be occurring? 

No, she did not. She had a list of them (that I was really interested in seeing cuz it had all the schools on it), but she couldn't find it :/ 
I believe the list only contained schools that had reached out to ACGC to start the accreditation process, so I would hope that would mean they would be popping up within the next year or 2, but there's many outside factors that could make the process take longer (which is the case for the Arizona program). 

[AspiringGC]

Oh AND there's a new Canadian program in Manitoba for any Canadian applicants! http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/health_sciences/medicine/units/biochem/10437.html

And the due date is February 1st..

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by slaybackc

[Blizzard]

51 minutes ago, slaybackc said:

No, she did not. She had a list of them (that I was really interested in seeing cuz it had all the schools on it), but she couldn't find it :/ 
I believe the list only contained schools that had reached out to ACGC to start the accreditation process, so I would hope that would mean they would be popping up within the next year or 2, but there's many outside factors that could make the process take longer (which is the case for the Arizona program). 

@Slaybackc I speculate it's this list: https://agcpd.org/ProgramDirectory.aspx under 'associate members'.

Also question for you: you mentioned something awhile back about not being able to shadow because of state regulations in your state. We're in the same state. Are you saying Arizona doesn't allow it? I haven't had a chance to run into those roadblocks much and find out for myself, since the GCs i met with were in another state, and since i've moved back to AZ I've worked full time and lived hours away from where any GCs are. 

[AspiringGC]

10 minutes ago, Blizzard said:

@Slaybackc I speculate it's this list: https://agcpd.org/ProgramDirectory.aspx under 'associate members'.

Also question for you: you mentioned something awhile back about not being able to shadow because of state regulations in your state. We're in the same state. Are you saying Arizona doesn't allow it? I haven't had a chance to run into those roadblocks much and find out for myself, since the GCs i met with were in another state, and since i've moved back to AZ I've worked full time and lived hours away from where any GCs are. 

I had found that list before and speculated that it could be it. And seeing as 5 of the associate members now have programs it would make sense. 

I have talked to two GCs in my area and both told me it was not allowed due to state privacy laws or something similar to that, so I have only been able to do informational interviews. 
I have a friend who was able to set up a "internship" of sorts with one of her old friends who is now a GC in the Phoenix area, but from the sound of it she volunteered more as what is now being called a Genetic Counseling Assistant, and did more data entry and answering phone calls. She did get to hear about certain cases the GC had seen, but I do not believe she was ever allowed to sit in on a session.  

I found it very frustrating that I cannot get that experience in state :/

[atx09]

On ‎1‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 0:24 PM, Gadgette said:

Are you staying with a student?

I requested to stay with one, hopefully I can :). You?

[atx09]

On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 2:22 PM, Gadgette said:

So I'm curious, have you all thought about what type of Genetic Counseling you'd like to do? I know it's likely to change throughout school and GCs often switch multiple times in their careers.

I love working with people with developmental disabilities, so I'm thinking metabolic or neurogenetics would be right up my ally. I'm also really interested in the genetics of mental health, especially given the amount of people with companies DD and mental health diagnoses.

I work in cancer now and I showed a prenatal GC, and they were so different. I know there's still other specialties that I'm interested in like cardio genetics, but I think I'm leaning towards cancer.

[Darwin]

Just received an interview offer from Brandeis! Very excited I saw this one was on some other people's lists here - it looks like they have a large number of dates to choose from, so maybe a lot of interview opportunities as well. If anyone has any advice for this program I would love to hear it! 

[Ultrapeaches]

38 minutes ago, Darwin said:

Just received an interview offer from Brandeis! Very excited I saw this one was on some other people's lists here - it looks like they have a large number of dates to choose from, so maybe a lot of interview opportunities as well. If anyone has any advice for this program I would love to hear it! 

I also just received an interview offer from Brandeis! I also applied to BU and would ideally only make one trip to Boston. Should I ask them if I can pick an interview date now and potentially change it later? What's the etiquette for this? 

[Gadgette]

2 hours ago, atx09 said:

I requested to stay with one, hopefully I can :). You?

No. I wanted to, but my husband is coming with and I didn't feel like it was right to ask a student to put him up too. We get in Wednesday around 5 and will be there until Saturday. Let me know if you want to meet up?

 

1 hour ago, Darwin said:

Just received an interview offer from Brandeis! Very excited I saw this one was on some other people's lists here - it looks like they have a large number of dates to choose from, so maybe a lot of interview opportunities as well. If anyone has any advice for this program I would love to hear it! 

 

39 minutes ago, Ultrapeaches said:

I also just received an interview offer from Brandeis! I also applied to BU and would ideally only make one trip to Boston. Should I ask them if I can pick an interview date now and potentially change it later? What's the etiquette for this? 

Congrats to both of you, that's awesome!

[.Aku.]

Interview at Michigan!

[HC929]

16 minutes ago, .Aku. said:

Interview at Michigan!

That's amazing, Aku!! Congratulations! I have also applied to the University of Michigan, I didn't think they'd send out offers so early on! Which day did you pick to interview on?

[.Aku.]

4 minutes ago, HC929 said:

That's amazing, Aku!! Congratulations! I have also applied to the University of Michigan, I didn't think they'd send out offers so early on! Which day did you pick to interview on?

Thank you! Sounds like they're doing a lot of calling today. Keep your phone nearby!

Haven't chosen a date yet. Wish I knew other dates so I could avoid potential conflicts. :| Leaning towards March 13th/14th.

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by .Aku.

[HC929]

4 minutes ago, .Aku. said:

Thank you! Sounds like they're doing a lot of calling today. Keep your phone nearby!

Haven't chosen a date yet. Wish I knew other dates so I could avoid potential conflicts. :| Leaning towards March 13th/14th.

 

Ooh that's so exciting. I've heard they only do about 30 interviews, so your chances are looking great! For some reason I thought they would email, now I feel like I'm gonna be anxiously holding my phone for the rest of today  

[.Aku.]

10 minutes ago, HC929 said:

Ooh that's so exciting. I've heard they only do about 30 interviews, so your chances are looking great! For some reason I thought they would email, now I feel like I'm gonna be anxiously holding my phone for the rest of today  

My heart about stopped when they called haha.

[allele1]

4 hours ago, Darwin said:

Just received an interview offer from Brandeis! Very excited I saw this one was on some other people's lists here - it looks like they have a large number of dates to choose from, so maybe a lot of interview opportunities as well. If anyone has any advice for this program I would love to hear it! 

 

3 hours ago, Ultrapeaches said:

I also just received an interview offer from Brandeis! I also applied to BU and would ideally only make one trip to Boston. Should I ask them if I can pick an interview date now and potentially change it later? What's the etiquette for this? 

I'm in the same boat about BU and only wanting to make one trip! I just requested dates though and I'm hoping BU will have several options. I'm sure we can check later on if they have any openings for other days if BU doesn't have options at similar times.

[hb_94]

Hey everyone! I am a little late to the party, but better late than never I suppose. I am currently an undergraduate senior at a small school in Rhode Island. I am majoring in both Applied Psychology and Biology, with a minor in Human Resource Management. My current GPA is 3.46 and my GRE scores are mediocre at best (152 V/151 Q/4.0). Not a fan of standardized testing. I have been a volunteer at a domestic violence shelter for a little over a year now where I work the hotline. I am also employed through a caregiving service for children with special needs. I have only been able to shadow one genetic counselor that was unfortunately a one day event. My extracurriculars are a little underwhelming, but I am a D1 athlete and most of my time has been consumed by that.

Non GC related hobbies: sports (Go Pats), cuddling with my dog, and I'm currently on a Gilmore Girls kick

I've applied to: BU, Brandeis, Michigan, UPitt, Rutgers, CSU-Stanislaus, UC Irvine, University of Colorado-Denver, Case Western (impatiently waiting to hear back from all)

Edited January 30, 2017 by hb_94

[AspiringGC]

Well I know that Utah is currently reading my application because I received an email about one of my prerequisites, so that's nerve-wracking and exciting  
I also read somewhere on the Oklahoma site that interview invites are sent out 2-3 weeks after the application closes (Jan 15th), yesterday marked 2 weeks, so I'm anxiously waiting an email from them too. 

Seeing everyone else get invites (even from schools I didn't apply to) makes me both jealous of you and happy for you. 

[allele1]

54 minutes ago, hb_94 said:

Hey everyone! I am a little late to the party, but better late than never I suppose. I am currently an undergraduate senior at a small school in Rhode Island. I am majoring in both Applied Psychology and Biology, with a minor in Human Resource Management. My current GPA is 3.46 and my GRE scores are mediocre at best (152 V/151 Q/4.0). Not a fan of standardized testing. I have been a volunteer at a domestic violence shelter for a little over a year now where I work the hotline. I am also employed through a caregiving service for children with special needs. I have only been able to shadow one genetic counselor that was unfortunately a one day event. My extracurriculars are a little underwhelming, but I am a D1 athlete and most of my time has been consumed by that.

Non GC related hobbies: sports (Go Pats), cuddling with my dog, and I'm currently on a Gilmore Girls kick

I've applied to: BU, Brandeis, Michigan, UPitt, Rutgers, CSU-Stanislaus, UC Irvine, University of Colorado-Denver, Case Western (impatiently waiting to hear back from all)

I'm currently watching Gilmore Girls right now too! Haha

[HC929]

2 hours ago, slaybackc said:

Well I know that Utah is currently reading my application because I received an email about one of my prerequisites, so that's nerve-wracking and exciting  
I also read somewhere on the Oklahoma site that interview invites are sent out 2-3 weeks after the application closes (Jan 15th), yesterday marked 2 weeks, so I'm anxiously waiting an email from them too. 

Seeing everyone else get invites (even from schools I didn't apply to) makes me both jealous of you and happy for you. 

Completely identify with what you're feeling. Hearing both about places I have and have not applied to makes me equally anxious. At least we're in the same boat, though! Can't believe this is all happening now, it feels like it snuck up on me (even though I also feel like I've been waiting ages for this time.. haha). 

[AspiringGC]

I have a question that some of you might be able to answer:
As I mentioned earlier, I am interested in prenatal; however, I haven't volunteered at a pregnancy center in my area for various reasons. 1) most of the ones in my area are faith-based and 2) 90% of them are strictly pro-life and the few that talk about abortion, still talk of it in a negative light. There have not been any positions available at Planned Parenthood, which is why I haven't gone there.
I am not religious, but can easily work in a religious center. My issue is with the second point. While everyone can have their opinions (really not trying to start a debate here), I am very pro-choice and do not feel I could push my beliefs aside, even to get experience in an area that I would hopefully end up in. 

Has anyone had to put their own personal beliefs/morals aside for certain volunteer positions? And if so, how? 
I'm really torn between just telling myself to "man up", but also staying true to myself.