Back to School...Again Part 2 

Applying to graduate school is always an intense process and it can be daunting to think about going back to school once you have been out. Some of our second-year genetic counseling students answer questions about their choice to come back to school and their process to prepare as part of our six-part summer blog series. We continue with part two of our series and students answer the question: How did you prepare to apply to graduate school?

Before applying I requested informational interviews over the phone or through email with several of the genetic counseling program directors.  I spoke with several current genetic counselors in a variety of specialties.  I read about different training programs and hospital systems, and made a list of the different program attributes, including unique opportunities available and any prerequisites I may have been missing.  I took two courses online, which was really helpful in easing myself back into being a student again. – Sarah Brunker

I applied to work at a local company that I thought would put me in the center of the genetic testing world, offering to fill whatever position they would give me for that opportunity. I took a few relevant online courses and read a lot of books and articles. I also made sure to really appreciate my sleep and free time with family and friends. --Caitlin Russell

Research and excel sheets.  My classmates would probably describe me as laid back, but when I make big decisions like this, I really need to see all the options laid out.  I had sheets for different career choices that included educational requirements and job market projection, sheets for potential programs of interest with tuition and deadlines, and pro/con sheets for leaving my students.  I would spend a few hours each week looking over the options and really narrowing it down to options that seemed reasonable.  Once I had it down to 5 or so programs (including genetic counseling and some PhD programs), I reached out to people at the schools that could answer more personal questions.  I choose programs that would accept my past experience and undergraduate coursework, to avoid enrolling in more pre-requisite classes. By being deliberate about my applications, I was able to save time and money—things you will be grateful for in grad school. --Kelsey Bohnert

I found it helpful to give myself small goals and a general timeline. When you are working full-time, it isn’t easy to convince yourself to study for the GRE or work on your application and these are things you don’t want to wait on. More specific things I did to prepare, were to speak with as many genetic counselors as I could since shadowing opportunities were limited in my area. I also began volunteering and strengthening my application through advocacy experiences. – Alyssa Azevedo 

I, personally, had to take quite a few courses that I didn’t take during my undergraduate career as a political science person. So for this I actually went back to school before I came back to school. This was really helpful to prep because I took all of the prerequisite classes in about two years, which meant it was all very fresh. I also talked to any genetic counselor who would talk to me, I couldn’t shadow all of them (because of privacy guidelines it can be tricky getting people to shadow) but at one point I emailed just about every genetic counselor  who was open to student contact in my state. I lucked out because two of them did let me intern with them and it was wonderful experience! I also tried to talk to current students, especially in the programs I was looking at to try to get a feel for what day to day life as a student would be like. I also listened to some genetics podcasts and read so many books (I actually asked most genetic counselors if they had any good book recommendations and they always did). I always recommend Far From the Tree! – Natasha Robin Berman

My job was integral in helping me prepare for the genetic counseling graduate program; the professional skills and scientific knowledge I acquired in my first career remain invaluable to my success, in and out of the classroom. I also had the opportunity to shadow two wonderful genetic counselors, who helped solidify my confidence in genetic counseling as the right career for me.--Charlotte Skinner