Genetic Counseling Fall 2018 Applicants

[pjc5054]

Hopkins gave three interview dates. 

03/16, 03/26/ 03/30

Edited February 21, 2018 by pjc5054

[AJM19]

44 minutes ago, hfj23 said:

Wow congrats!! Did they give you a date or ask you to rank? I'm wondering if this will be my first rejection lol

They gave three dates for interviews (3/16, 3/26, 3/30) but didn't ask us to select one or rank, just let us know that another staff member would be in touch with more details.

Edited February 21, 2018 by AJM19
typo

[GCGrgs]

Is anyone still waiting to hear from LIU Post?

[GChopeful860]

I’m getting ready to Interview at Rutgers this week! Has anyone interviewed there already? Does anyone know what questions to expect or have tips to prepare! Also do people typically bring notepads to take notes? Thanks!!

[TAGC]

21 minutes ago, GChopeful860 said:

I’m getting ready to Interview at Rutgers this week! Has anyone interviewed there already? Does anyone know what questions to expect or have tips to prepare! Also do people typically bring notepads to take notes? Thanks!!

I think you might have one of the first interview dates with them.  I haven't interviewed with Rutgers yet, but I interviewed at other universities last year and I brought a notepad in to each of them and no one seemed to mind.  The discord has a discussion channel with interview questions and tips. https://discord.gg/QDHZy7S

Edited February 21, 2018 by TAGC
Added link

[AnonymousGC]

Did anyone here get rejected from Jefferson? I still haven't heard from them so do I assume it's rejection at this point?

[KaryoKid]

On 2/19/2018 at 12:41 PM, LalaG said:

Hey guys, anyone here applied to the dual MS/MPH program at Pitt and heard anything back yet? Thanks!

I heard back February 6th, but it seems like it's one of the schools inviting in waves. 

[GC2018]

2 hours ago, AnonymousGC said:

Did anyone here get rejected from Jefferson? I still haven't heard from them so do I assume it's rejection at this point?

You might be wait listed and they're just waiting to send out the wait list email! Thats what happened to me with Northwestern. I checked this page and noticed that everyone received their interview invites on Friday for northwestern and I didn't hear from them until Tuesday saying that I'm waitlisted for an interview. 

[bB0769]

A bit lost and confused here, looking to see if anyone else has been in the same boat.

I applied for a program last year that I got an interview with. I didn't get accepted or waitlisted, but in their rejection call they phrased it like "in the highly unlikely event that you don't get accepted elsewhere, we strongly encourage you to apply next year." Additionally, I phoned for feedback, and they informed me that all of my academia, advocacy, volunteer experiences were very strong and I was a great applicant.. but I could  improve on my interview skills a bit. Additionally they told me that they don't normally take students right out of uni so to try again next year. 

So I did, I applied to their program this year, and I didn't even get considered for an interview. Received a rejection email today. I'm lost as to what to think. 

Anybody else have this experience? I'm going to try to message the coordinator later in the year and ask for feedback, but I don't know if they'll even do that because they don't normally provide feedback unless you interviewed. 

[LauraCH]

@bB0769 Sorry to hear all of this. Sounds like you are a great candidate and you are deserving of a spot somewhere. I'm a first-year applicant so I don't have any personal experience with this issue, but I know a lot of people on here and on discord have said they didn't get interviews this year at places they were interviewed, even waitlisted last year. It's baffling for sure, the only thing I can think is that these programs have just already decided you aren't the right "fit" for their program. I imagine it's frustrating. You aren't alone by any means though. I hope you get a spot this year. Fingers crossed for you!

[bB0769]

4 minutes ago, LauraCH said:

@bB0769 Sorry to hear all of this. Sounds like you are a great candidate and you are deserving of a spot somewhere. I'm a first-year applicant so I don't have any personal experience with this issue, but I know a lot of people on here and on discord have said they didn't get interviews this year at places they were interviewed, even waitlisted last year. It's baffling for sure, the only thing I can think is that these programs have just already decided you aren't the right "fit" for their program. I imagine it's frustrating. You aren't alone by any means though. I hope you get a spot this year. Fingers crossed for you!

That's what I thought too, after i received the rejection email.. maybe they just know it's not the program for me (however, I felt SO strongly that it was the right program for me after interviews last year). I'm just confused as to why they would encourage me so heavily in my feedback to apply again if they made up their mind already, you know? But thank you for getting back to me, it really helps to know I'm not alone!! 

[AspiringGC]

48 minutes ago, bB0769 said:

Anybody else have this experience? I'm going to try to message the coordinator later in the year and ask for feedback, but I don't know if they'll even do that because they don't normally provide feedback unless you interviewed. 

Almost ALL school provide feedback, even without interviewing, just based on your application. I didn't interview anywhere last year; however, I received feedback from all but 1 of the programs I applied too. This year, I noticed that one program stated in my rejection letter that they can't give personalized feedback due to the large amounts of applicants... As the field becomes more known and more popular, I'm sure programs will be leaning towards only personalized feedback for those they interview, but not just yet. 

So anyone who doesn't get accepted this year should still definitely reach out in May!

[bB0769]

7 minutes ago, AspiringGC said:

Almost ALL school provide feedback, even without interviewing, just based on your application. I didn't interview anywhere last year; however, I received feedback from all but 1 of the programs I applied too. This year, I noticed that one program stated in my rejection letter that they can't give personalized feedback due to the large amounts of applicants... As the field becomes more known and more popular, I'm sure programs will be leaning towards only personalized feedback for those they interview, but not just yet. 

So anyone who doesn't get accepted this year should still definitely reach out in May!

This specific school told me last year I could only contact the coordinator for feedback if I interviewed, which is why I included that

[LauraCH]

7 minutes ago, AspiringGC said:

 This year, I noticed that one program stated in my rejection letter that they can't give personalized feedback due to the large amounts of applicants.

Haha good old Utah doesn't even want to speak to us about our applications. 

[Nefelibata]

53 minutes ago, bB0769 said:

That's what I thought too, after i received the rejection email.. maybe they just know it's not the program for me (however, I felt SO strongly that it was the right program for me after interviews last year). I'm just confused as to why they would encourage me so heavily in my feedback to apply again if they made up their mind already, you know? But thank you for getting back to me, it really helps to know I'm not alone!! 

@bB0769 I am among the many who interviewed at a school last year but was rejected this year. It happens, and quite a lot from the sounds of things this year. One possibility could be as someone mentioned that they didn't feel you were a great fit for their program. Another reason could be simply the application pool. As the field becomes more and more popular, there are more and more qualified people applying. Some application cycles might have more super-qualified applicants than other cycles, and where you fall among the other applicants changes every year. I don't mean to offend or put you down, but I can't imagine a school telling someone not to re-apply next year, and "we strongly encourage you to reapply" kind of sounds like a generic blanket statement they probably say to everyone. The school I interviewed at last year but was rejected from this year said something along the same lines to me as well. All in all, try not to let it get you down too much! If you applied to other schools and/or have other interviews this year, I wish you luck!

[bB0769]

@Nefelibata that's fair, thank you for the support!

[Methylation]

For those of you who are reapplying next year, would you be interested on tips on how to get points for hotels and flights in time for the next round? I was able to book all my flights and hotels with points, and looking over how much it would've cost me, I don't know what I would've done without points.

[RBsister]

@bB0769 I was going to say basically the same thing as @Nefelibata.  This is a very common problem in competitive application pools.  It's also possible that they wanted to see some additional growth from last year to this.  I personally have been taking heart that schools that are interested in what I have to offer are the ones which will interview me.

@Methylation  Still booking some of my lodging for this year, and just in general I (and I"m sure this community!) would love tips on how to lower costs in this pricey process.

Applied/Interview/TheyMissedOut:  Augustana, Brandeis, Denver,  Hopkins, Stanford, Stanislaus, Irvine, Maryland, UWMadison, Utah, VCU,

[bB0769]

31 minutes ago, RBsister said:

@bB0769 I was going to say basically the same thing as @Nefelibata.  This is a very common problem in competitive application pools.  It's also possible that they wanted to see some additional growth from last year to this.  I personally have been taking heart that schools that are interested in what I have to offer are the ones which will interview me.

Thats a really great attitude! Thanks for sharing  

[Nefelibata]

1 hour ago, Methylation said:

For those of you who are reapplying next year, would you be interested on tips on how to get points for hotels and flights in time for the next round? I was able to book all my flights and hotels with points, and looking over how much it would've cost me, I don't know what I would've done without points.

I booked almost all my stuff with points too! Saved me SO much money. 

[sj3]

53 minutes ago, Nefelibata said:

I booked almost all my stuff with points too! Saved me SO much money. 

Like points from Credit Cards (if so, which ones? I have Chase Freedom, but not sure if thats the best) or do you have rewards with specific airlines/hotels? 

Edited February 22, 2018 by sj3

[Nefelibata]

7 hours ago, sj3 said:

Like points from Credit Cards (if so, which ones? I have Chase Freedom, but not sure if thats the best) or do you have rewards with specific airlines/hotels? 

I should be paid for the free advertising I'm about to give here, haha.

I have both points from credit cards and rewards with airlines/hotels. My two personal favorite credit cards that I use are the Delta Gold American Express and Capital One Venture. I use the Delta Gold because my airport is a Delta hub so that's the airline I most frequently fly (and with the gold card I get a extra free bag, priority boarding, and some other cool perks), but the miles take a little while to rack up because it's only one mile per dollar. The Capital One Venture card is by far the best points card (in my opinion) out there. You get 2 points for each dollar you spend on ANYTHING, and you can redeem points directly through them for airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc. In my experience, booking through them requires fewer points than all my frequent flyer miles options (except maybe southwest). For example when booking my flight to Houston, it would have cost me 60,000 miles through Delta, 40,000 miles through American Airlines, and I don't remember how many points I would have needed through Southwest, but I didn't have enough anyway. Using my Venture card it cost me 35,000 points AND I am still able to earn frequent flyer miles for the airline Capital One booked it through so even though I'm using points I'm still earning some at the same time. You can also pay with partial miles/partial money in literally any amount of your choosing - you just type in if you want to pay x amount of dollars and it will tell you how many miles are required to cover the rest of it (or vice versa). If you pay for anything travel-wise out of pocket, you can also use points to reimburse your purchase after the fact. Even if you aren't a frequent traveler, you can also redeem your miles for gift cards or for a lump sum credit to your account (i.e., take $150 off your credit card bill by redeeming 15,000 miles).  

For the Venture card and any airline-specific card, when you first sign up there is usually a bonus, like "spend x amount of money in x amount of time and you get 50,000 miles!". So look out for those offers too. And once you spend the money to get the bonus, you don't have to use the card ever again if you don't want to.  Hotels also have credit card partnerships but I don't use any of those. The hotel point systems can be helpful though. Most hotels let you choose if you want to earn/redeem your points for staying as frequent flyer miles for a specific airline or as points for that hotel brand. Some airlines have partnerships with hotels anyway, like I know American Airlines has a partnership with a TON of hotels, and you can earn miles just for staying there if you give them your frequent flyer number when you book or at check in. 

There are a lot of ways to save if you know how to play the game right

[TAGC]

9 hours ago, bB0769 said:

Thats a really great attitude! Thanks for sharing  

Seconding what @RBsister said.  When getting feedback from a school I interviewed at last year I asked "how can I make sure I make it to the interview round next year?" and she said "For repeat applicants we want to see that you've done something to improve."  So I geared my personal statement to really emphasize what I've done in the past year to try to improve my application.

I feel in a bit of a similar boat.  Toronto has rejected me 5 times now, and I haven't once even gotten to the interview phase.  Last year they told me I was really close to getting an interview, but didn't quite make the cut-off and gave me feedback, which I applied.  Yet, they've rejected me once again *sigh*.  Just remember that even though this school didn't give you an interview this year, doesn't mean that you won't be a great Genetic Counselor in the future! (Sorry for all of the double negatives in that statement... trying to say that you can and will be a great GC one day!)

[soon2beGC]

17 hours ago, bB0769 said:

Anybody else have this experience? I'm going to try to message the coordinator later in the year and ask for feedback, but I don't know if they'll even do that because they don't normally provide feedback unless you interviewed. 

I know a bunch of people have already responded to this, but I just want to give my two cents. 

I did have that same experience as you, and I agree with what everyone has said in response, but I just want to add that just because one school decides they don't want to interview you, it doesn't mean that another school won't think you're a great applicant. I didn't get an interview from two of the schools I interviewed with last year, but I did get another interview from the other two. Some schools emphasize one thing more than another, but that doesn't mean that you won't get in somewhere that emphasizes the traits you have.

Good luck! 

[Blizzard]

19 hours ago, LauraCH said:

Haha good old Utah doesn't even want to speak to us about our applications. 

Utah said they wont even review your applications? What?