Genetic Counseling Fall 2018 Applicants

[AspiringGC]

22 minutes ago, GeneDawg said:

Looks like Boise state university submitted letter of intent/ Does anyone know when the program will be opening?

Ooh that's exciting. I used to live in the Salt Lake area and we visited Boise a lot, I really like the area. It's possible they'll be ready for Fall 2018 acceptance and if so I'll probably apply. But with how long a lot of those programs have been listed on the Letter of Intent list, it's unlikely they'll be ready for this cycle. 

[jbv510]

15 hours ago, Nefelibata said:

@freckledgenes, @jbv510 how are you two planning on dressing for the conference? Formal business, business casual?

I think I'll go business casual - probably pants.

[Rosie414]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the gradcafe, but I'll be applying for the Fall 2018 admission cycle!

I was hoping to get some advice from people who have applied before or anyone who just knows! I'm currently working on my personal statement, and I'm wondering whether it should be single or double spaced? A lot of the schools I'm applying to specify that it should be 1-2 pages, but they don't have any other guidelines. Is there a standard for this? 

Thanks in advance! 

[AspiringGC]

1 hour ago, Rosie414 said:

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the gradcafe, but I'll be applying for the Fall 2018 admission cycle!

I was hoping to get some advice from people who have applied before or anyone who just knows! I'm currently working on my personal statement, and I'm wondering whether it should be single or double spaced? A lot of the schools I'm applying to specify that it should be 1-2 pages, but they don't have any other guidelines. Is there a standard for this? 

Thanks in advance! 

Most prefer double spaced, but if it doesn't specify then you can use whatever you prefer. I submitted a single spaced to UTHealth last year cuz I needed the extra room 

[AspiringGC]

I'd love for you guys to share about what you learn at the Symposium this weekend when possible

[TAGC]

On 9/14/2017 at 0:38 PM, Rosie414 said:

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the gradcafe, but I'll be applying for the Fall 2018 admission cycle!

I was hoping to get some advice from people who have applied before or anyone who just knows! I'm currently working on my personal statement, and I'm wondering whether it should be single or double spaced? A lot of the schools I'm applying to specify that it should be 1-2 pages, but they don't have any other guidelines. Is there a standard for this? 

Thanks in advance! 

If it doesn't say, then I'd do single-spaced for the extra room.  All of the programs I submitted to last year specified.  Two of them were double-spaced essays, one was a single-spaced essay, and the other was a form where you had to answer the questions "in the space provided".

[daisyhunter]

Hi guys, 

So I applied to a few programs last year and got waitlisted for interviews in a couple places, but I am realizing I largely chose schools willy-nilly without much consideration. I am living in Chicago and my first choice is Northwestern for that reason and because I like the fact that their clinical rotations start early on, the quarter system, and the fact that they allow you to potentially complete clinical rotations over the summer abroad. Other than that, I don't really know how to best pick programs. I have since found that Boston also allows for rotations over the summer abroad, and starts clinical exposure relatively early on. Any recommendations on other programs that follow this trend/other things I should be considering?

[AspiringGC]

43 minutes ago, daisyhunter said:

Hi guys, 

So I applied to a few programs last year and got waitlisted for interviews in a couple places, but I am realizing I largely chose schools willy-nilly without much consideration. I am living in Chicago and my first choice is Northwestern for that reason and because I like the fact that their clinical rotations start early on, the quarter system, and the fact that they allow you to potentially complete clinical rotations over the summer abroad. Other than that, I don't really know how to best pick programs. I have since found that Boston also allows for rotations over the summer abroad, and starts clinical exposure relatively early on. Any recommendations on other programs that follow this trend/other things I should be considering?

I understand how you feel about Northwestern as that's how I'm feeling about the new Arizona program. I live in Tucson now and really love the area, went to UofA for undergrad and loved the school. I would really love to continue my graduate career here, plus in state. I also really like the director and when I meet with her next Monday I am going to ask more about rotations and more program specific questions. For me, the three biggest factors in choosing programs, both last year and this year, were 1. location 2. cost and 3. rotations. But to you, it looks like rotations and location are both important. I'd suggest looking into EVERY SCHOOL and reading up on their rotations. If they start early or mention the ability to go abroad, put it on your list. If you can't find that information, you can always shoot the program director a quick email asking. Let's hope that gives you more programs than you want to apply, then try to narrow down based on proximity to Chicago, if you need to narrow down even more than think about other factors you don't want, maybe you don't want to go to a newly accredited school, remove those, etc. Narrow down until you've got the number of programs you want to apply to and you're set

There's really no sure fire way to pick besides what your preferences are. Definitely reapply to schools you got waitlisted at if you're still interested! Those schools thought you already had the makings for a GC and anything you've done since applying to boost your app plus reapplying will definitely shine a good light on your application. Look into UW-Madison as that's still close to Chicago, both the schools in Indiana and maybe Ohio schools? I'm not sure how many you want to apply to, but that's just based on lcoation.

[freckledgenes]

12 hours ago, daisyhunter said:

Hi guys, 

So I applied to a few programs last year and got waitlisted for interviews in a couple places, but I am realizing I largely chose schools willy-nilly without much consideration. I am living in Chicago and my first choice is Northwestern for that reason and because I like the fact that their clinical rotations start early on, the quarter system, and the fact that they allow you to potentially complete clinical rotations over the summer abroad. Other than that, I don't really know how to best pick programs. I have since found that Boston also allows for rotations over the summer abroad, and starts clinical exposure relatively early on. Any recommendations on other programs that follow this trend/other things I should be considering?

Hi daisyhunter,

This was also me when I last applied. I am trying to choose which programs to apply to with more thought this time too. AspiringGC had some good points on what to consider; I'd also add that I am considering not only location, cost, and rotations, but also my learning style. What I mean by this is some programs have larger cohorts (Northwestern, Sarah Lawrence), whereas most of the others have smaller cohorts. Some have more online classes, or classes taken with medical students. For me, I know what type of environment is more conducive to my success, so I'm trying to consider that as well.

I was also advised not only to talk to program directors but also current and former students to get a sense of the "personality" of the program.

[GCEZ]

Hey everyone!

Are you guys tailoring your personal statements to specific schools?  Obviously if the prompt asks why you want to go to that school in particular then we should, but if it doesn't, should we talk about specific things we like about that school or just keep it generic?  Thanks so much!

[GCToBe989]

10 hours ago, GCEZ said:

Hey everyone!

Are you guys tailoring your personal statements to specific schools?  Obviously if the prompt asks why you want to go to that school in particular then we should, but if it doesn't, should we talk about specific things we like about that school or just keep it generic?  Thanks so much!

I personalized them last year, and I will do so again this year. IMO, it's important to show the school why you're applying there and what has drawn you to their specific program! Good luck with your statements!

 

[TAGC]

11 hours ago, GCEZ said:

Hey everyone!

Are you guys tailoring your personal statements to specific schools?  Obviously if the prompt asks why you want to go to that school in particular then we should, but if it doesn't, should we talk about specific things we like about that school or just keep it generic?  Thanks so much!

I used a very similar statement for all of the schools I applied to, because my experiences and personality traits that I wanted to show the schools didn't change.  That being said, I ended with a paragraph about why I was applying to that specific school, and that part was tailored.  I'm not that creative of a writer, so finding the right words to get across why I want to be a genetic counselor wasn't easy for me, which is why I used very similar statements for each program.  That being said, some of the programs ask specific questions, or have different styles for their personal statement, and in those instances you might have to write something completely new in order to give them what they're looking for.

[GCApp1522]

Just wanted to bump my question again about Probationary Accreditation as it seems to have gotten lost! Does anyone have any insight as to what this means for students or a program, or why they are not included in the match? Hoping someone at the Symposium learned something about this! Please let me know  

[GCTripi]

 

3 hours ago, GCApp1522 said:

Just wanted to bump my question again about Probationary Accreditation as it seems to have gotten lost! Does anyone have any insight as to what this means for students or a program, or why they are not included in the match? Hoping someone at the Symposium learned something about this! Please let me know  

I have sent several emails to LIU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (as directed on the program's website), but haven't received any replies yet  

[AspiringGC]

7 hours ago, GCApp1522 said:

Just wanted to bump my question again about Probationary Accreditation as it seems to have gotten lost! Does anyone have any insight as to what this means for students or a program, or why they are not included in the match? Hoping someone at the Symposium learned something about this! Please let me know  

 

3 hours ago, GCTripi said:

 

I have sent several emails to LIU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (as directed on the program's website), but haven't received any replies yet  

@lex94 was accepted and is attending this year. I know she doesn't get on here too much anymore. She posted something on the second page of this thread and in last years. Maybe shoot her a PM and see if she has more insight into this!

Edited September 21, 2017 by AspiringGC

[Nefelibata]

23 hours ago, GCApp1522 said:

Just wanted to bump my question again about Probationary Accreditation as it seems to have gotten lost! Does anyone have any insight as to what this means for students or a program, or why they are not included in the match? Hoping someone at the Symposium learned something about this! Please let me know  

I didn't hear anything about it at the symposium, sorry! If their genetic counseling page has a phone number to contact, I would try calling them if they aren't answering emails.

[hfj23]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and recently read through the forum from last application cycle, which seemed extremely helpful but also stressed me out like crazy. I'm currently a senior applying for fall 2018 because I really don't want to take a gap year!! 

I've known since a little more than a year ago that I wanted to do genetic counseling so I've been working towards it since then. I do crisis line counseling at two different agencies (one for DV/SA and one for youth). I also work as a supplemental instructor for genetics at my university. I have also been doing research on specific protein interactions in plant cell walls, which is what i plan to write my senior thesis on next semester. My grades were ok freshmen year of college (mostly Bs thanks to weed out intro classes)  but I've been on an upward trend since then. I'm a biology major, minoring in psych and chemistry and have done well in all of the pre-req classes. My GPA is 3.70 and my GRE scores are 166V/157Q/4.5A. I'm planning to graduate with departmental honors in biology next semester! 

I've also shadowed prenatal, cancer, and cardiovascular GCs but only for a day each because they wouldn't let me shadow for a longer period of time. U of M and Wayne students are doing their clinical rotations over the summer so they can't have another student (like me) sitting there  But I'm really grateful for the shadowing because I learned a lot!

I'm stressing out because so many of you are 2nd or 3rd time applicants! I went to Wayne State's open house and saw a similar pattern there as well. The good thing about having to take a gap year is that many of you work or intern at a genetic counseling office or gene sequencing company. I've read accepted student bios and many of them have this experience, which makes me feel like I'm not qualified enough yet /: 

Do any of you 2nd or 3rd time applicants feel like this was why you got rejected the first time around? What kind of feedback did you receive if you're willing to share? I would be really appreciative! 

[AspiringGC]

@hfj23 I was largely rejected for lack of experience, I hadn’t shadowed any genetic counselors when I applied, I’d only had a mentor like relationship with a non practicing GC. Secondly, some of my pre-req grades were poor (had a few C’s here and there) and my GPA wasn’t what I’d hope. My GRE was around average and my advocacy experience isn’t quite what the “typical” experience is. My LORs and PS we’re fine but one school noted that they may not have helped make me “stand out”. I needed to dive a little deeper, find a writer who could attest more to my character and how I’d be a great GC.

Obviously now, I have shadowed GCs, I volunteer weekly with GCs, my GPA went up with my last year of grades, I’m retaking a select pre-req course, and the job I found has some really good transferrable skills and is giving me a better insight into health care.

I was extremely bummed and upset about not getting in. I did not want to take a gap year at all. But now that I’m here, it’s not that bad. It feels nice to actually be supporting myself, putting money away for grad school, and just further shows me that being a GC is where I want. Not getting in has just motivated me even more. I think also it’ll help make me more serious in course work come grad school. I might have halfassed coursework like I did throughout undergrad if I’d gotten in right away, now I know that I know the alternative I’m going to be 110% into grad course when the time comes.

From what you’ve noted, I wouldn’t be too stressed if I were you. Your grades and GRE are great. You have the advocacy and shadowing experience, three days are more than most people can get. And you have other relevant Genetics experience. As long as your PS and LORs don’t hinder you, I think you can expect some interviews

[hfj23]

23 hours ago, AspiringGC said:

@hfj23 I was largely rejected for lack of experience, I hadn’t shadowed any genetic counselors when I applied, I’d only had a mentor like relationship with a non practicing GC. Secondly, some of my pre-req grades were poor (had a few C’s here and there) and my GPA wasn’t what I’d hope. My GRE was around average and my advocacy experience isn’t quite what the “typical” experience is. My LORs and PS we’re fine but one school noted that they may not have helped make me “stand out”. I needed to dive a little deeper, find a writer who could attest more to my character and how I’d be a great GC.

Obviously now, I have shadowed GCs, I volunteer weekly with GCs, my GPA went up with my last year of grades, I’m retaking a select pre-req course, and the job I found has some really good transferrable skills and is giving me a better insight into health care.

I was extremely bummed and upset about not getting in. I did not want to take a gap year at all. But now that I’m here, it’s not that bad. It feels nice to actually be supporting myself, putting money away for grad school, and just further shows me that being a GC is where I want. Not getting in has just motivated me even more. I think also it’ll help make me more serious in course work come grad school. I might have halfassed coursework like I did throughout undergrad if I’d gotten in right away, now I know that I know the alternative I’m going to be 110% into grad course when the time comes.

From what you’ve noted, I wouldn’t be too stressed if I were you. Your grades and GRE are great. You have the advocacy and shadowing experience, three days are more than most people can get. And you have other relevant Genetics experience. As long as your PS and LORs don’t hinder you, I think you can expect some interviews

Thank you so much for your insight! I definitely think students like you have an advantage due to the extra experience though. I think this is why most programs don't accept students right out of undergrad. I just don't want to be paying all this money for apps and nothing comes through /: I'm pretty wary about this whole match system thing too 

[trp111]

On 6/20/2017 at 5:41 PM, AspiringGC said:

Arizona will likely be much closer to fall/when they get approval. I will double check with my mentor. I'm emailing her today to get some more information/insight into how the process is going.

Do you know if Arizona is still planning on taking applicants this cycle? Their website still has next to no information!

Also, if programs are open for applications but they still haven't received accreditation, what are everyone's thoughts on applying?

[AspiringGC]

20 hours ago, hfj23 said:

Thank you so much for your insight! I definitely think students like you have an advantage due to the extra experience though. I think this is why most programs don't accept students right out of undergrad. I just don't want to be paying all this money for apps and nothing comes through /: I'm pretty wary about this whole match system thing too 

If you can afford to apply twice, and really don't want to take a gap year, it is definitely for your benefit to apply this year. If you can't afford/don't want to pay twice, you may benefit from a gap year to gain that experience. Really think hard about what is best for you. Maybe this year only apply to your top 2 or 3 schools to get a feel of the process and see what happens instead of all 6 or 8 you might be interested in. If you get in, great, if you don't at least you know how the process works a bit more, saved some money, AND you can get direct feedback on your application from directors at your top choice schools and use that to your advantage for next cycle.  

24 minutes ago, trp111 said:

Do you know if Arizona is still planning on taking applicants this cycle? Their website still has next to no information!

Also, if programs are open for applications but they still haven't received accreditation, what are everyone's thoughts on applying?

So I just had my meeting with the program director, so I will be very thorough with what she told me. If you've looked, the application is half up. So, definitely still expecting to take applicants and the deadline is going to be January 1st. You can enter your basic info and pay the fee (and technically submit, but don't do that), but there isn't areas for the specific items, such as your Personal Statement or references. They are in the process of finishing up the specifics on the application and should have that up within the next couple of weeks (the program coordinator has been on maternity leave). Second, they hope to have the website up within the next month. It is basically completed on their side, with just the FAQ section that needs to be put together before it goes live. Third, the director is hoping to have the application submitted to ABGC in a week. She is completely done with the application and is only waiting on her supervisor to read and sign off. 

Unfortunately, many schools have reaccreditations coming up, plus the other new programs that have submitted their application already. She was told it could take up to 8 months for the application to be reviewed and accreditation to be given. This deadline puts getting accredited very close to or after the Match deadline. If Arizona is not accredited by that deadline, they CANNOT participate in the Match. They would be allowed to participate in the Unmatched process and extend acceptances to students then.

These programs work really hard on the back end to get everything needed for accreditation and need a lot of support. To get to the point of accreditation, I feel most schools will almost always get it, unless some big glaring problem comes up. Arizona thankfully used to have a well run program, has tons of support from the school and administrators, and a director who has put everything into this to make it a possibility. I have no doubts that accreditation will be give, but the when is the biggest factor. Let's say for example Arizona is your top choice, but they aren't accredited in time and you go ahead with match. You get matched with Program B (your second choice), but then Arizona gets accreditation and wants to extend you an offer. Your Match with Program B is binding. You cannot go to Arizona if Program B doesn't withdraw their offer. You are stuck going to Program B or not going at all. This would be the same scenario for ANY school that is pending accreditation come Match..

It puts students in a kind of tricky spot, especially if their top choice is one of those schools waiting, do you wait and risk the school not getting accreditation or do you do Match and risk not getting your top choice if you are Matched and then they get accredited? This is kind of the spot I will be in.. It's still a ways off, so I'm not going to stress over it until interviews, which will really show me which school is the right one for me. If that means I don't participate in Match and hold out a chance, then I will or vice versa. 

The director did give me a draft of the student handbook, which is basically what is on the website. If anyone is interested/looking into Arizona, feel free to PM me your email and I can scan and send it to you. It has information about pre-reqs, where rotations will be, tuition, etc. 

[WFUGC]

Hi everyone!

Reading this forum has been so wonderful thus far- I’ve never actually met anyone else who wanted to be a genetic counselor!

I graduated in 2017 with a Spanish major (concentration in medical Spanish) and biology and psychology minors. I did well in all my pre-reqs (mostly A/A- with my lowest being a B+) and my cumulative GPA was a 3.85 with Phi Beta Kappa. My GRE scores were 165V/156Q/4.5AW. I’ve done short term shadowing with genetic counselors at 4 places, was a student advisor/peer mentor at my university, interned in a molecular diagnostic laboratory for a summer, was a volunteer medical interpreter at a free clinic, interned at a residence house for AIDS patients in Spain, and am currently living in Argentina and interning at a cancer NGO for six months. I plan on coming home mid-February to be back in time for interviews (hopefully!!!).  I am planning on applying to eight schools, but my top ones are USC, UAB, Emory and Stanford. Are there any other non-science majors that are worried about their science background? I took the clinical embryology course online through University of Cincinnati, but don’t know if that was enough. I want to be a bilingual genetic counselor so my Spanish major was very important to me, but I am worried now that not being a science major might hurt me in this process. I am also worried about my advocacy experience- none of it has been the traditional crisis hotline, shelter volunteering, or Planned Parenthood work.

I am currently working on my personal statements. I have never enjoyed writing about myself, and am struggling a little bit! Does anyone have any advice for getting out of their own head a little bit? Also, how many people do you think is a good number to ask to edit the personal statements?

I am super excited/nervous for the future and am very glad that I have found this forum and people going through the same thing!

[Blizzard]

19 hours ago, AspiringGC said:

If you can afford to apply twice, and really don't want to take a gap year, it is definitely for your benefit to apply this year. If you can't afford/don't want to pay twice, you may benefit from a gap year to gain that experience. Really think hard about what is best for you. Maybe this year only apply to your top 2 or 3 schools to get a feel of the process and see what happens instead of all 6 or 8 you might be interested in. If you get in, great, if you don't at least you know how the process works a bit more, saved some money, AND you can get direct feedback on your application from directors at your top choice schools and use that to your advantage for next cycle.  

So I just had my meeting with the program director, so I will be very thorough with what she told me. If you've looked, the application is half up. So, definitely still expecting to take applicants and the deadline is going to be January 1st. You can enter your basic info and pay the fee (and technically submit, but don't do that), but there isn't areas for the specific items, such as your Personal Statement or references. They are in the process of finishing up the specifics on the application and should have that up within the next couple of weeks (the program coordinator has been on maternity leave). Second, they hope to have the website up within the next month. It is basically completed on their side, with just the FAQ section that needs to be put together before it goes live. Third, the director is hoping to have the application submitted to ABGC in a week. She is completely done with the application and is only waiting on her supervisor to read and sign off. 

Unfortunately, many schools have reaccreditations coming up, plus the other new programs that have submitted their application already. She was told it could take up to 8 months for the application to be reviewed and accreditation to be given. This deadline puts getting accredited very close to or after the Match deadline. If Arizona is not accredited by that deadline, they CANNOT participate in the Match. They would be allowed to participate in the Unmatched process and extend acceptances to students then.

These programs work really hard on the back end to get everything needed for accreditation and need a lot of support. To get to the point of accreditation, I feel most schools will almost always get it, unless some big glaring problem comes up. Arizona thankfully used to have a well run program, has tons of support from the school and administrators, and a director who has put everything into this to make it a possibility. I have no doubts that accreditation will be give, but the when is the biggest factor. Let's say for example Arizona is your top choice, but they aren't accredited in time and you go ahead with match. You get matched with Program B (your second choice), but then Arizona gets accreditation and wants to extend you an offer. Your Match with Program B is binding. You cannot go to Arizona if Program B doesn't withdraw their offer. You are stuck going to Program B or not going at all. This would be the same scenario for ANY school that is pending accreditation come Match..

It puts students in a kind of tricky spot, especially if their top choice is one of those schools waiting, do you wait and risk the school not getting accreditation or do you do Match and risk not getting your top choice if you are Matched and then they get accredited? This is kind of the spot I will be in.. It's still a ways off, so I'm not going to stress over it until interviews, which will really show me which school is the right one for me. If that means I don't participate in Match and hold out a chance, then I will or vice versa. 

The director did give me a draft of the student handbook, which is basically what is on the website. If anyone is interested/looking into Arizona, feel free to PM me your email and I can scan and send it to you. It has information about pre-reqs, where rotations will be, tuition, etc. 

Hey question. on their catalog page for the program it says: "The Genetic Counseling Graduate Program does not provide financial aid, however students may contact the Financial Aid office for assistance ". Does that mean U of Arizona will not be offering any scholarships, and students will be only paying out of pocket or loans for the program??

[AspiringGC]

2 minutes ago, Blizzard said:

Hey question. on their catalog page for the program it says: "The Genetic Counseling Graduate Program does not provide financial aid, however students may contact the Financial Aid office for assistance ". Does that mean U of Arizona will not be offering any scholarships, and students will be only paying out of pocket or loans for the program??

As it's a new program, they are not offering any financial aid until the second year. So, the first year would be completely out of pocket. For in-state, it comes out to around $18K/year as there is the normal tuition and then a $3k/semester special fee to help pay for clinicals etc. 

[Blizzard]

46 minutes ago, AspiringGC said:

As it's a new program, they are not offering any financial aid until the second year. So, the first year would be completely out of pocket. For in-state, it comes out to around $18K/year as there is the normal tuition and then a $3k/semester special fee to help pay for clinicals etc. 

Thank you! sent you a message, btw