My Post-Grad Journey

After finding out in late April 2020 that I had not matched to a genetic counseling program, I was shell-shocked. I was a week away from what should have been my graduation, and I was now left without any plans. I should have already started looking for jobs before match day, but with the pandemic changing everything, I hadn't thought that far ahead. My partner was moving to my hometown for a job, and I knew I wasn't willing to move away from both him and my family in the middle of a pandemic. I knew that for my emotional and mental health, I would have to look for jobs in my hometown, even though the prospects were bleak.

I think a common misconception amongst applicants is that you have to get a job as a GCA or some other position with strong genetic ties. I certainly thought this, and I struggled to find a job that fit the criteria in my area. I reached out to a genetic counselor I had previously worked with and asked if there was any position available at her company. She let me know that she had also not gotten into a GC program on her first try, and that she had worked in retail until she did get in. She thought that I had enough GC experience to not need a GCA position and suggested that I broaden my job search. I began to look at jobs such as medical receptionists, lab techs, scribes-any entry-level position in research or medicine. I probably applied to 100 positions over the span of a couple of months and only heard back from 2. The first position was at a life sciences company as a clinical data associate. I was truly excited about the position; it had a reasonable starting salary and captured my interest more than the other jobs I was applying to. After the company conducted a phone screen with me, it was already clear that I wasn't what they were looking for. I went back to applying to every job that remotely caught my interest until I heard from my current job.

Although most of the jobs I was applying to were medical or research related, a few jobs working with children caught my eye. Throughout my senior year of undergrad, I had been volunteering with children with disabilities. I knew it would be nearly impossible to find similar opportunities due to the pandemic and decided to accept an offer to work as a special education aide. As it was still in June when I accepted the position, I was uncertain on if it would actually work out due to the inability of the school systems to decide on in-person vs. remote learning. Eventually it was decided that I would come into the school starting the first day of school, and the students would be remote.

While I waited for school to start, I worked up the courage to ask programs for feedback on my application. I was still trying to process my emotions regarding not matching, and the last thing I wanted to hear was what each program thought I did wrong. After I had drafted an email to each program, I decided I needed to go ahead and rip the Band-Aid off. I reasoned that receiving feedback from these programs could help provide closure on the past application cycle and would help me prepare for the next one. I wrote to each program that I was disappointed to not receive an interview/not match to their program and that I was still interested in attending their programs, and then asked if they would be willing to discuss my application/interview with me. Most of the programs I didn't receive an interview with wrote back with brief feedback, but one did ask to set up a call with me to discuss things. The call lasted around an hour and we discussed everything from the formatting of my CV to the content of my personal statement. It was definitely the most helpful feedback I received, and I started working on revamping my CV the next day. The schools I interviewed with also called, but they didn't have much feedback about improving my interview style/performance. They encouraged me to apply again, as they could only take so many students each year.

While I waited for Match to open up again in September, I decided to update a spreadsheet I had made a few years back that contained program specifics for every GC program in the US. I took note of required and recommended courses, whether they were requiring the GRE, tuition cost, and any unique program experiences. I narrowed my list down by area and by price, and then I gave each of the remaining programs on my list a deep dive into their curriculum, rotations, and any available student bios. From there, I began to narrow my list down further by deciding if programs seemed like they aligned with what I wanted to get out of my graduate education and if the students had similar experiences to mine. I also decided that for this upcoming cycle, I wanted to apply to 10-12 programs. After deciding 10 was the right amount for me, I went back to revamping my CV during my down time.

School being virtual only lasted for a few weeks, and before I knew it, I was trying to help manage a classroom while making sure special education children were masked and socially distanced at all times. Needless to say, my job has led to a lot of stress, and definitely has impacted my applications and this blog at times. As the school year has stretched on, more students have joined, and it has only become more stressful. I won't go into too much detail about my job, but feel free to send me a message here or on my Instagram and I will be glad to answer your questions!

My blog posts are by no means a 'how-to' for applying to genetic counseling programs or getting jobs, but I do hope that my experiences can resonate with other applicants out there. If you applied to genetic counseling this cycle, please know that your worth is not defined by the amount of interviews you do or don't receive. If you don't match this cycle, it definitely does not mean you aren't fit to be a genetic counselor. This process gets tougher each year, and there are plenty of qualified GCs/students out there that didn't get in on the first try. My advice to you if you don't match or receive interviews is to take time to process your emotions. It's okay to feel angry, upset, confused. When the wound has healed, reach out to the programs you applied to and ask for feedback. If it's something minor and you're eager to get in as soon as possible (me!), see if you can improve over the summer and apply again. If you need more shadowing, or need to take a few courses, take the time needed to accomplish these goals. Apply again whenever you feel comfortable. If you take a gap year or two, find a job that you'll enjoy. All skills are applicable to genetic counseling in one way or another. Do what's best for you. Hopefully this post wasn't too all over the place! I'm currently in the middle of waiting to hear back from the schools I applied to this cycle. So far, I have 3 interviews scheduled, 1 rejection, and I'm still waiting to hear back from 6 more! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message on here or on my Instagram! If you want to hear more about my journey, please feel free to subscribe to the blog at the bottom of the page, or you can follow me on Instagram @journey2gc!