Becoming an MS Candidate in Genetic Counseling
Those who know me know that I will be attending the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions to earn my masters in genetic counseling, as part of the second cohort of students. I am incredibly excited to begin this journey, and to be joining this profession. But it was a difficult journey to get here financially, mentally, and even academically.
Cost of Applying
There are many costs associated with applying to genetic counseling school. When you apply to many programs, the costs can rack up. So, I’d like to share with you my own costs. (1) The GRE is required for all programs — because of the global pandemic, many programs are working to phase this out. But, I was required to take it for all 5 of my programs, and it cost me $160. Then I spent an additional $45 to take practice exams. My total came to $205. (2) Sending GRE scores is a whole other story. At the time of my exam, I hadn’t yet finalized a list of schools I was applying to. If you’re looking to save some cash, I recommend having a finalized list because it is free of charge to send your scores during your testing period. Because I sent mine weeks after the exam, I spent $135 (or $27/test) to send my scores in. (3) Transcripts. Yes, transcripts. The cost of sending transcripts add up when you’re applying to many schools and paying for everything else. I paid $30 to have my own grades sent to programs. (4) Application fees. These are the fees that you must pay for your application to be processed and reviewed by a program. These fees cost anywhere from $50–100. I spent $330 on application fees. I do recommend contacting the programs you’re applying to for a waived or reduced application fee.
My grand total was $700.
When I was applying, I was required to be completing an unpaid internship — I was on month 6 of working 40+ hours per week for free. After I was leaving internship I was going to work nights at a grocery store for 5 hours a night because I was depleting my savings. My saving grace was the fact that I had my parents. My parents helped me a lot financially. I live with them rent free, when I needed help with my applications they helped, I didn’t have to pay for food, and they were helping me with my monthly T pass if I needed it. I’m so thankful for that. But I know so many other applicants don’t have that.
Resume and Experiences
I also know that so many applicants don’t know where to start with their resume. A good genetic counseling applicant has a good resume — I’ve heard this so many times from program directors, counselors I work with, professors at school and other applicants. I’d agree with that statement because my resume was the only thing I was 100% confident about. But what do you put on a genetic counseling resume? I’ll tell you!
- Any and all STEM experiences. One of the first experiences I ever had was working in a lab as a freshman. It wasn’t relevant to genetic counseling, but it’s relevant to my story. Working in that lab pushed me to love research ethics, an imperative topic and conversation in genetic counseling. Whether you worked in a lab that bred fruit flies, a lab that worked with microbes or a genetics lab, it’s all important and you should include it.
- Shadowing! Shadowing a genetic counselor or geneticist is a unique experience. These experiences typically only exist for medical or genetic counseling students. If you can find one, definitely include it on your resume.
- Information Sessions/Webinars. Taking the time to attend an institutions informational session either in person or online, it’s something you should include. It shows that you’re taking your applications seriously, you’ve heard what genetic counselors have to say, and you’re listening to current students. These are all valuable experiences. It may seem a bit odd to include these, but I did! Often times these sessions help you learn more about the profession, you learn what you want in a program, and whether this is a career you want.
- Informational Interviews. A lot of the time if a genetic counselor cannot allow you to shadow them or offer an internship, they’re more than happy to get lunch or coffee with you! As you dive into the field you learn that this is a field where everyone is passionate about sharing their experiences, journeys, and answering any and all questions you have. Again, these experiences offer a lot of real insight into the field.
- Any experiences that you’re passionate about, even if you don’t think they’re relevant. I have a section of my resume dedicated to “Additional experiences.” In this section I mention that I am a cashier, a substitute dance teacher, a former Student Government Member, and a student teacher to a group of fourth grade students. These are all experiences that I enjoy and that I think have helped shape me into a leader, which is important to the counseling field.
- Advocacy experiences! This can be something like volunteering for a texting hotline, working with an organization you’re passionate about, working at a summer camp, tutoring, or anything else you can think of. Some programs make this a requirement, while others do not. Some allow texting hotline, while others do not. You should do more in depth research of each program you’re applying to, to ensure that you’re a strong applicant for that program.
Personal Statement
In addition to your resume, you are required to have a personal statement. This was probably the hardest piece of writing I have ever had to sit down and write. It took me about 5 months to write and edit. This is your chance to shine. You can choose to describe your journey to genetic counseling, why you want to be a counselor, a defining experience you’ve had, you can give a more detailed account of your resume, you can explain a barrier you’re facing to get to grad school, or you can tell a story. The choice really is yours. Often times programs will offer some sort of a prompt, but they will all typically be looking for similar information. I read a few personal statements before I decided how I wanted to write mine. If you’re still reading, you’re welcome to read mine!
Additional Resources
But what other resources exist if you need help? There are many! If you’ve applied previously, you should reach out to program directors and ask what you can do to improve your application. As I’ve mentioned before, genetic counselors love to offer any advice that they can, so directors are a great resource, but so are other genetic counselors in your area. You can even ask program directors to meet with their current students, to shadow a day in the life of a student or to meet with them! The students that I have met love to share advice and are so kind — definitely meet with one! One resource that I loved a lot was Reddit. If you like to scroll Reddit I highly recommend the subs r/ClinicalGenetics and r/GeneticCounseling. They’re full of students, counselors, and other applicants going through the same thing you are. Don’t like Reddit, but you like Twitter? Checkout the hashtag #GCchat — genetic counselors and students use the thread to discuss all things genetic counseling related! It’s a great educational resource to scroll if you’re looking for papers and the state of the field in real time as well. You should also checkout the National Society of Genetic Counselors website — there are great videos, FAQs, contact information, and webinars that you can subscribe to even if you aren’t a member! A list of these resources can be found at the bottom of this post!
Waiting for those interview emails can be stressful. Whether you get one or ten, you’re qualified. Even if you get none, apply again! Programs love to see second and third time applicants. It shows your passion and drive for the field.
I hope this helps someone. Applying is overwhelming. Impostor syndrome is real. But you can do it!
Charlene Preys
MGH IHP
MS in Genetic Counseling Candidate, Class of 2022
Here is a list of resources for your convenience!
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GCchat&src=typed_query&f=live
