Grad School Study Tips & Favorite Study Spots in Pittsburgh - Claire Magill

 

Grad school is a challenge, there’s no doubt about it. Adjusting to the pace, depth, and application-based learning can take some time, but with the right study strategies and a supportive environment, you’ll find your rhythm before you know it!

Genetic counseling school emphasizes applying knowledge rather than simply memorizing facts. Since our work is so interactive, we need to develop skills, not just recall information. This is often different from undergraduate coursework, so it’s important to approach studying with a fresh perspective.

One of the best pieces of advice I can offer is that it’s okay to not know everything! You’re here to learn how to become a genetic counselor, there’s no expectation that you already know how to do that. Embracing discomfort and uncertainty is part of the process. Your faculty and cohort are there to support you, and asking questions is encouraged.

Another tip is to take advantage of the depth of knowledge that faculty have. Office hours are an amazing opportunity to get further clarification on topics you find challenging, and faculty are always willing to meet one-on-one for deeper discussions. The welcoming and supportive nature of the program makes all the difference as you navigate this learning curve.

The next tip is to lean on your cohort! One of my favorite aspects of Pitt’s genetic counseling program is the non-competitive collaborative environment fostered by both faculty and students. The support from classmates is invaluable, especially when it comes to studying. Group study sessions are a game-changer. Each person in the cohort brings unique perspectives, and teaching others is one of the best ways to reinforce your own understanding. It’s reassuring to know that everyone genuinely wants each other to succeed, it makes all the difference in the grad school experience.

Now that we’ve covered study strategies, let’s talk about where to study! Pittsburgh offers a variety of great spots, both on and off campus, to keep studying fresh and enjoyable.

On-Campus Study Spots:

Public Health Building: The genetic counseling program is housed in the School of Public Health and has great study spaces. The third floor Human Genetics department has a lounge which is perfect for working on projects and collaborating with classmates. My cohort and I do group work here as well as eat our lunch and hangout between classes! If you need a silent space, the designated quiet study room, affectionately nicknamed "quiet jail” is ideal for focused work. These are great study spots on campus between classes.

Cathedral of Learning: The Cathedral of Learning, also called Cathy by students, is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere. The architecture inside gives major Hogwarts vibes, making it a fun study spot when you need a change of scenery to keep you going.

 

Off-Campus Study Spots:

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Just a short walk from the public health building, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland is both beautiful and functional. With a variety of seating options, it’s a great place for solo or group study sessions. There are other locations throughout Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods which may be close to your apartment for weekend studying.

 

 

Delanie’s in Shadyside: One of my absolute favorite coffee shops for both drinks and the cozy study vibes! They have fantastic seasonal drinks, and the atmosphere is great for getting work done. 

One of the perks of living in a city is the endless number of coffee shops, libraries, and unique study spaces to explore. Trying out different spots keeps studying fresh, helps you discover new favorite places, and makes the process more enjoyable.

While studying in grad school may feel different from undergrad, you’ll find your groove. The material is relevant, engaging, and directly tied to your future career, making it all the more exciting to learn. I can’t wait to see how my own study habits and favorite spots evolve over the next year!

Do It Scared: Adjusting to Life in Grad School - Kathryn Mierzejewski

 

As a prospective student, one of the ways I gained exposure to the field of genetic counseling was by conducting informational interviews with genetic counselors in a variety of specialties and roles across the country. One of the questions I asked in all of these conversations was if the genetic counselor felt that their undergraduate education and other job experiences had prepared them for their graduate school experience. I heard a variety of responses. Some felt that they were adequately prepared. Others felt like they underwent a big leap into their grad program, rather than an ideal smooth transition.

I asked this question in particular because I had a deep-seated fear about adjusting to life in graduate school and wanted to hear more perspectives. I was applying right out of undergrad and did not have any full-time work experience, so I worried about seeming less professional than others. I didn’t get perfect grades in college, so I worried that I would not be able to keep up in class. I had not worked as a genetic counseling assistant, so I worried about having less knowledge about the field than others did. Imposter syndrome is a very real thing! I also felt nervous about moving to a new city all alone and making a life for myself in Pittsburgh. 

Looking back on those feelings a year later, I would love to tell myself that I did not get where I am today by accident. I have found adjusting to life in the Pitt GC program to be personally and professionally enriching, and challenging in good ways. My cohort has such a wide variety of lived experiences, which means they all give the best advice and tell the best stories. This includes myself– I have learned that I also bring a unique perspective to the table. While our classes certainly aren’t easy, I feel so connected to my purpose for being here every day. I am much closer to my graduate school classmates than I was in my undergraduate courses and have learned how valuable those personal connections can be for support on a daily basis. I’ve also really grown to value the confidence-building model that our faculty here at Pitt intentionally employ. Experiences such as simulated patients and observational clinic days have allowed me to gradually build up my knowledge before I enter my clinical rotations this summer. 

Adjusting to a new city and Pittsburgh itself has been such a fun adventure. For example, I felt so energized by the idea that anywhere I went to eat next could be my new all-time favorite restaurant, and that I had so many new museums to check out. Now that I’ve settled in I love having friends from my hometown and my college come to visit so I can share my new home with them. This city and its people have been so approachable, down-to-earth, and welcoming. I have been able to make time for my hobbies (even adopting new ones) and pursue volunteer opportunities in the city. I am, of course, now a Steelers fan. 

One of my favorite sayings that I think really applies to the adjustment into graduate school is “do it scared”. You might not feel entirely confident and every day may not be perfect, but the important part is showing up and doing it anyway. My life looks very different from how it did a year ago and changes of this magnitude are never easy, but they are certainly worthwhile. I am so glad to be where I am today! 

Perspectives on Advocacy from a Patient & GC Student

 

Advocacy experiences are always highlighted as a key area of exposure for prospective genetic counseling students, allowing for familiarity with the unique lived experiences with those with disabilities and genetic conditions. As a person with a rare bleeding disorder, finding my own sense of advocacy was something that was grown and cultivated within me throughout different stages of my life. My sense of advocacy started as largely personal, revolving around self-assurance in management of my bleeding disorder. Key figures such as my hemophilia treatment center care team, my family, and my local bleeding disorders community stressed the importance of making my unique health care needs known to others.

As I entered my college years, my advocacy evolved beyond a strictly personal sense and evolved into a desire to advocate for the greater bleeding disorder and rare disease communities.  Whether participating in legislative advocacy against restrictive insurance policies for those with bleeding disorders or working to provide a summer camp experience for children with serious medical conditions, I was able to broaden my horizons beyond my own experience with rare disease. In my interactions with organizations in the larger rare disease community, I also came to understand how healthcare professionals, staff members, and volunteers from different backgrounds coalesce to provide essential community support.

Upon entering Pitt’s genetic counseling program, I was curious to discover how my understanding of advocacy as a rare disease patient would blend with the manner in which genetic counselors advocate for their patients on a daily basis. With a semester of genetic counseling school under my belt, I have learned key lessons in how genetic counselors act as advocates for the patients they serve and empower patients to become their own advocates.

1. Stay informed on policy and research initiatives that inform patient care

With a curriculum rooted in public health, Pitt’s program emphasizes the crucial role that healthcare policy and law play in providing care to patients. Lectures that we received were always peppered with information on pertinent health policy. Our lecture on informed consent taught us about laws that protect patients from discrimination relating to genetic testing and disabilities while our lecture on newborn screening introduced us to state policies that designate inclusion of certain genetic conditions on testing panels. Genetic counselors may find themselves advocating for a new disease to be added to the newborn screening panel in their state or helping to coordinate patient enrollment into clinical trials for a promising new drug. Through an understanding of the unique issues that a specific patient population finds most pertinent to their community, genetic counselors can better understand how to support their patients. 

2. Become familiar with local support groups

Throughout the first semester in our Principles of Genetic Counseling course, we were privileged to hear from families in the greater Pittsburgh area about their patient and caregiver journeys. A consistent highlight of these talks were the importance of local support groups as a source of encouragement, guidance, and direction for patient families. A genetic counselor may provide initial support in the clinic, but they compose just one piece of the puzzle in a network of support for patients with genetic conditions. As a part of our Interventions Skills in Genetic Counseling course, second semester students further explore this impact through direct observation of a support group. By opening avenues to other resources for support beyond the genetic counseling clinic, patients and their families can expand their journey of involvement and advocacy to the level in which they choose. 

3. Recognize that advocacy comes in all shapes and sizes

     After a patient shared that her ultimate goal was to find a diagnosis for the symptoms she was experiencing, the genetic counselor I was observing took the time to acknowledge her advocacy journey in taking the steps to seek out genetic counseling for her own personal clarity and health needs. This reinforced that advocacy is not defined based on set parameters of knowledge, past experience, or public-facing exposure. Patients can choose to participate in advocacy efforts to the level in which suits them best. It is important for genetic counselors to validate any and all experiences and meet individual patients where they are at in regard to how advocacy can function for them. 

If you have ever stood up for something you have believed in or have stood up for others in your life in any capacity, you have practiced advocacy skills in your daily life. Regardless of personal background or experience, advocacy is something that is instilled in each and every genetic counselor. As I continue on throughout Pitt’s genetic counseling program, I am grateful to be surrounded by fellow students and faculty who possess a shared passion for serving a community that is near and dear to my heart. 

A Sneak Peek Into Pitt GC’s First Semester Curriculum - Anna Hilliard

If you’re a prospective applicant for the University of Pittsburgh’s Genetic Counseling Program, odds are you’re already familiar with this image, which represents our first-year curriculum:

As an applicant, I remember wanting to know more about each of these courses and how the current students felt about them. If you feel similarly, you’re in luck: keep reading for an exclusive sneak peek into my experience with the first-semester courses, how they fit into my understanding of genetic counseling, and an assignment/project highlight from each class!

Obligatory disclaimers: Pitt GC’s curriculum is subject to change, and our program leadership do, in fact, make changes based on our feedback each year! My impressions are reflective of the courses as they were in Fall 2024. Also, I will be omitting the human genetics seminar, case conference, and grand rounds courses for the sake of brevity.

1) Principles of Genetic Counseling (aka Principles)

Taught by Pitt GC’s own Jodie and Robin, this course is the primary genetic-counseling-specific course you’ll take in your first semester. In it, we covered a variety of core genetic counseling topics (including a sizable module on pediatric genetic counseling) alongside a series of assignments designed to help us practice GC skills as we learned them and to build confidence in communicating complex information clearly. We also had several community panels where patients and/or their families came in to share their stories with us–these panels were an extra notable highlight for me, and I learned so much from them! 

There’s not much I can share visually given that most of our assignments were text-based, but here is a simple, on-the-fly visual aid for autosomal recessive inheritance that I created as part of our “genetic concept explanation” assignment, where we had to explain a wide variety of genetics terms as though we were speaking to a patient with limited health literacy:

Overall, I felt that the Principles course provided an excellent introduction to the genetic counseling profession and helped me to practice the type of thinking and problem solving that genetic counselors do on a daily basis. 

2) Molecular Basis of Inherited Disease (aka Molec)

Molec was, in short, a journey. Led by Dr. Beth Roman and a few guest lecturers, we explored the foundations of molecular biology, the mechanistic basis and inheritance of various Mendelian disorders, and the ins and outs of single-gene impacts on so many different body systems. Both didactic and practical, I had a blast (get it?) in this course. The grading for Molec is based on homeworks, quizzes, and exams, so I have no projects to show here, but I do have this relevant meme that I made that exemplifies the molecular concepts we learned about: 

In this meme, famous musical artist Eminem is throwing Wikipedia’s top image for “nonsense mediated decay” (NMD) at the viewer. NMD was one of my favorite topics that we covered last semester; I had never heard about it before taking the class, and the quality control mechanisms that our bodies use to keep things running smoothly never fail to amaze. In short, eukaryotic cells are able to detect when translation has ended prematurely, whether by way of a premature stop codon caused by a mutation or through other mechanisms, and subsequently degrade the transcript before it is fully translated. Intricate molecular mechanisms like NMD were a regular topic in Molec, and in a level of detail that I was never exposed to in undergrad!

Although the information overload could be a bit overwhelming at times, developing such a strong molecular genetics foundation in my first semester really did help to contextualize the concepts I learned in my other classes and will definitely continue to help me along the way to becoming a full-fledged GC. Knowing what the information found in variant databases, patient laboratory results, etc. actually means on a molecular level helps me to internalize that type of information so much more effectively!

3) Introduction to Statistical Methods (aka Biostats)

In Biostats, taught by Dr. Haley Grant, we made our way through six modules each taking us through different aspects of data management, statistical principles, and data analysis. We utilized R/RStudio throughout the semester, which is a valuable skill to have on hand, and also applied the concepts we learned through written analyses of real-life research articles. While I had some familiarity with R and basic data analysis going in, Dr. Grant’s course filled in the foundational gaps that I had and introduced me to newer, more efficient ways to manage and analyze data. My newfound biostats knowledge will almost certainly come in handy when it’s time to work on our thesis projects, and having a strong understanding of statistics is key for effective genetic counseling. Whether a statistical novice or an R pro, Biostats will have you creating and interpreting figures like this one in no time:

4) Introduction to Population Genetics and Genetic Epidemiology (aka Pop Gen)

Having last taken a course about population genetics in 2018, I was a bit nervous going into Pop Gen and having to revisit ancient concepts like Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium and genetic drift. However, Dr. Shaffer made these topics so fun and engaging that my fears faded away quite early into the semester. This course provided a broad, application-based overview of HW principles and the impacts of violating them, statistical tests for trait association and inheritance, and an entire module on genetic epidemiology and gene mapping. The genetic epidemiology section in particular overlapped strongly with the content from my other classes (especially Molec and Epi), and by the end I started to feel much more confident in my ability to read and understand genetics literature. Pop Gen is largely homework- and exam-based, so there isn’t much I’m able to show here, but I can share a simple graph that I made to represent how the frequency of a major X-linked allele would change over time if a certain Hardy-Weinberg assumption were to be violated (can you guess which one?):

5) Principles of Epidemiology (aka Epi)

Lastly, co-instructed by Drs. Songer and Costacou, our evenings spent in Epi lecture sessions collectively took us through the entire epidemiological practice cycle. We covered (among other topics) fundamental epidemiological principles, global health assessment, disease surveillance systems, and approximately nine million different measures of variable association. Before coming to the Pitt GC program, I had almost no exposure to epidemiology and likely would not have thought it would be an area that I’d have any interest in. However, I found that many of the core concepts we learned in Epi tied back well to the field of public health in general and to the genetic counseling profession. Having a solid understanding of the epidemiological approach and good research practices allowed me to dive more deeply into genetic epidemiology and to think carefully about how academic research is presented.

Conclusion

Thank you for joining me on this whirlwind tour of my first semester as a Pitt GC student! While it may seem like a lot at first, I found the course load to be very manageable with a bit of schedule planning and lots of support from my wonderful cohort. As the semester went by, the different topics from each of my courses started to fit together in a way that really helped with my overall understanding and, just as importantly, with my confidence as a student and as a future genetic counselor. There is still much to learn, and I look forward to seeing how the second semester courses expand on what I’ve already experienced!