Genetic Counseling Fall 2018 Applicants

[ATG-GC]

10 minutes ago, laura moreno said:

did you apply to their dual program?

Nope, just their masters program. 

[laura moreno]

3 minutes ago, ATG-GC said:

Nope, just their masters program. 

 So I guess that's a no for me 

[guidingsunchan]

Just got my official rejection letter from Baylor. Any recommendations on when to ask them for suggestions to build up my app for next year?

[LauraCH]

@laura moreno A lot of people in the discord chat (like me!) haven't heard from VCU and also they send out invites over at least 2 days.

[laura moreno]

4 minutes ago, LauraCH said:

@laura moreno A lot of people in the discord chat (like me!) haven't heard from VCU and also they send out invites over at least 2 days.

okay! so there is still hope! 

[GC2018]

4 hours ago, jpmcm0 said:

You still have 4 schools to hear from! But that's an awesome attitude to have. Many of us are second time applicants and you will learn a lot about your application when you ask. I waited until the beginning of May to ask, when I applied two years ago. I decided not to apply last year because it often takes a long time to set up volunteer positions and shadowing (if that's where you lack like I did) and I'm glad I didn't rush it. Good luck on the rest of your schools!

If I didn't get an email from Mt. Sinai today should I take that as a rejection or do you think they're sending them out in waves?

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by GC2018

[hfj23]

1 hour ago, ATG-GC said:

VCU invites are out.

Congrats! Did they just give you a date or did they ask you to rank them? 

[ATG-GC]

@hfj23 Thanks! And I was able to rank and get a response about my date within an hour.

[AspiringGC]

39 minutes ago, guidingsunchan said:

Just got my official rejection letter from Baylor. Any recommendations on when to ask them for suggestions to build up my app for next year?

Where do you think your application was lacking? 

That's the biggest area to focus on. Of course come May, reach out for feedback. But I knew going into getting feedback last year where my issues were (no GC experience, some low prereq grades, okay GPA, and no "traditional" advocacy experience). It's best to start NOW with getting things you already think are a weakness in order (I started working on the GC experience in February last  year). 

Once your narrow down what you think, the feedback from programs is best used to compare against your own list and then go from there. When the school's echoed my thoughts, it helped to solidify that the steps I was taking to improve were indeed the right ones. 

ALSO, something I wish I did but didn't, apply to the GC internships!! There's Northwestern, Iowa, Baylor, UT, Cinci and more. Most applications are open now and close likely around March. That's a GREAT way to get some more GC experience and looks very good on applications. Also, turn your attention to jobs too. Find a GCA position, advocacy position, lab tech, or in a related health care field will definitely boost your app as well. 

[KaryoKid]

1 hour ago, CCC AGU said:

I'm waiting too! They send out invites in waves so there's definitely hope! 

I'm also waiting for SLC and I'm glad people have shared it comes out in waves!

[WFUGC]

Is there anyone else who got an invitation to interview at VCU but is not able to go on any of the three dates that they offered?

[guidingsunchan]

@AspiringGC thanks so much for all the feedback! The two main areas that I think I'm probably lacking in will be shadowing (I didn't start shadowing until July of last year and only got to see maybe 10-15 patients - not sure how that compares with others' experiences) and advocacy (haven't done any advocacy work since 2015 when I was a hospital advocate for rape/sexual assault survivors).

I'm not sure I'd be able to do an internship since most of the ones I've seen around my city (Houston) are pretty intensive and I work full-time at MD Anderson (I'm in cytogenetics, so I figured that would really help my apps as I've worked in both constitutional and cancer labs).

So would you recommend reaching out around May for feedback from schools I applied to?

[AspiringGC]

12 minutes ago, guidingsunchan said:

@AspiringGC thanks so much for all the feedback! The two main areas that I think I'm probably lacking in will be shadowing (I didn't start shadowing until July of last year and only got to see maybe 10-15 patients - not sure how that compares with others' experiences) and advocacy (haven't done any advocacy work since 2015 when I was a hospital advocate for rape/sexual assault survivors).

I'm not sure I'd be able to do an internship since most of the ones I've seen around my city (Houston) are pretty intensive and I work full-time at MD Anderson (I'm in cytogenetics, so I figured that would really help my apps as I've worked in both constitutional and cancer labs).

So would you recommend reaching out around May for feedback from schools I applied to?

10-15 patients is A LOT in all honesty.. Most applicants get maybe a day or two tops of shadowing, which I'd assume is around 4-7 patients. I've had three days, which only counts out to 5 appointments, but I spent 60 hours volunteering/doing GCA work around the office for two GCs. The advocacy may be an issue. The crisis text line as someone mentioned early is flexible and can be done from home if you don't have too much time you can spare for other options. Or 7 Tea Cups which is a website. Same idea. 

Northwestern is a week long, maybe you have enough time off to make that work? But otherwise your current job is good. 
And yes, May is the best bet. Now until Match day (and a little after), programs are swamped with interviews, selecting applicants, getting acceptance information put together and other behind the scene administration stuff we don't fully know about. May is when they start to die down a bit and the best time to ask. They may get you the feedback right then or tell you they'll be in contact at a later time if they are still busy. 

Edited February 8, 2018 by AspiringGC

[ChloeB323]

6 hours ago, HSGC2017 said:

Those with ISU interviews, which dates were u given 

I'm interviewing March 3rd!

[ChloeB323]

So, I've got several interviews coming up. I am so, so, so nervous. Any ideas on how to prep?

 

Also, can anyone explain the ranking process to me? Is there something I should be doing now? It seems like such an odd flow of events. Plus, when I sign in to NMS, it says I can't rank until after March 29th.

[allele1]

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the Mt. Sinai interview dates? There's nothing highlighted on the calendar when I look. 

[AspiringGC]

1 hour ago, ChloeB323 said:

So, I've got several interviews coming up. I am so, so, so nervous. Any ideas on how to prep?

 

Also, can anyone explain the ranking process to me? Is there something I should be doing now? It seems like such an odd flow of events. Plus, when I sign in to NMS, it says I can't rank until after March 29th.

No, Rankings open on March 29th. You’re supposed to submit AFTER you’ve gone to all your interviews 

Edited February 9, 2018 by AspiringGC

[NicSL]

21 hours ago, Joey0817 said:

For anyone who hasn't heard back from manitoba or ubc, does it say on your student profile on the application website that you're not being offered an interview? I know they already sent out invites from both schools but I haven't heard back from them at all, not even a rejection letter...wasn't sure if anyone else is in the same boat. Just want some closure :\

On the results page, it looks like someone got a rejection letter from the University of Manitoba yesterday...! Oh my, my anxiety is rising again

[JeanCounselor]

My fellow Univ of Indiana peeps, do you know who we're likely to be interviewing with? Their email didn't specify any faculty. Pointers, besides program director of course?

[katiespencer]

1 hour ago, allele1 said:

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the Mt. Sinai interview dates? There's nothing highlighted on the calendar when I look. 

Yeah! I used to be able to see them, checked my calendar and then they were all gone!

[GChopeful860]

Any guesses on when Pitt will be sending out more interviews? 

[allele1]

3 hours ago, katiespencer said:

Yeah! I used to be able to see them, checked my calendar and then they were all gone!

So weird! I emailed, so hopefully, they'll fix that soon.

[FutureGC7]

2 hours ago, GChopeful860 said:

Any guesses on when Pitt will be sending out more interviews? 

Next week. They are doing it in sets/batches so I think once every week for the next couple of weeks. 

[LadyFox]

14 hours ago, LCGC said:

@JeanCounselor FYI it is Indiana University (I go to Indiana University-Bloomington so I just know it is IU lol) and I am sure it is faculty/program directors/current GCs

@LCGC I graduated from IU last May! Good luck from a fellow Hoosier

Edited February 9, 2018 by LadyFox

[LCGC]

18 minutes ago, LadyFox said:

@LCGC I graduated from IU last May! Good luck from a fellow Hoosier

Yes, good luck to you too!!