Frequently Asked Questions

There are many ways to use the information presented here and ultimately, it depends on what stage you are in your application journey.  All products are offered a la carte, so pay for what you want and skip what you don’t.

If you are starting to investigate genetic counseling as a field you may wish to enter, start with Module 1.  It will give you an in-depth look at what you would be doing as a counselor, how you can use your degree, and things to consider when going into the field.  The goal is for you to be sure this is what you want to do before spending time and effort applying!

If you are already sure you want to be a genetic counselor and are looking to apply in the future, you’ll find application-specific material in Module 2.  This will give you a rundown on the match, selecting schools, getting your application documents in order, nailing your interviews, etc. 

I assume you have already done some research into what being a genetic counselor is like, but I would also recommend considering Module 1 and the Counselor Interviews as well.  Exclusive interviews and insights into the paths of current counselors can improve your knowledge of your post-graduation options and strengthen your Statement of Purpose.

Feel like you’re set, you just want to have someone look over your application and practice interviewing?  Need a cheerleader? Head towards our one-on-one options.

Don’t want to spend any money here? That’s ok, check out our resources tab for recommended papers, podcasts, feeds, and other sources to get you up to speed on what is happening in the GC world. Also, you can find consolidated information on grad programs using our interactive map.

All content, free or paid, will first require you to make a user account.

Applying to grad school is the worst. It’s stressful, it’s expensive, it’s time-consuming, it can damage your confidence, and in general is just a really uncertain season of life as your whole career trajectory depends on your performance. I had literally no idea what I was doing when I applied in 2012 but somehow I got in.  However, I firmly believe that if I were trying to apply now for school, I definitely would have been rejected, maybe multiple times. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know...you know?

Of course, now as a fully-fledged and experienced counselor, I can look at that process I went through and see tons of mistakes and a lot of luck. But here is the thing, GCs don’t like to leave anything to chance. All other medical fields have coaching programs to help applicants get placed, so it makes sense for GC to have this available as well. There were scattered resources, chat rooms, etc, but no single place to really get oriented and I was hearing from many students, program leadership. and supervising counselors that the application process was harder than ever.  Understandably, there was a lot of desperation and confusion on the part of the applicants.  Systems that cause desperation and confusion require fixing.

I’ve always loved teaching and I’m thoroughly in the telehealth setting, so putting together courses like this just made sense all around. Applicants can know exactly what they are getting into and get the guidance they so desperately need. Programs will get even more excellent students who are totally prepared. The field of genetic counseling can improve with each class coming in already aware of some problems to fix. 

If you start this process and realize you don’t want to be a GC, that’s completely fine. Valuable information before trying to apply, right? If you do want to be a GC and all of this course information confirms it, that’s more passion and more preparedness for you to present in your applications.

Yes.  Those who appear in interviews on this site were fully informed as to their role and consented to participate.  They were compensated for their time, as all genetic counselors should be.  There is a serious issue in the genetic counseling community of counselors not being appropriately compensated for their time and work; I did not wish to propagate this problem.  However, they were not instructed as to their comments, answers, or other information they provided.  Their views shared here are their own and do not represent the views of any institution that they previously, currently, or may in the future work for.

Yes.  Those who appear in interviews on this site were fully informed as to their role and consented to participate.  They were compensated for their time, as all genetic counselors should be.  There is a serious issue in the genetic counseling community of counselors not being appropriately compensated for their time and work; I did not wish to propagate this problem.  However, they were not instructed as to their comments, answers, or other information they provided.  Their views shared here are their own and do not represent the views of any institution that they previously, currently, or may in the future work for.

Obviously no, there is no product out there which can provide a guarantee. Data about the effectiveness of GC Prep services for the 2022 application cycle can be found on the Coaching and Mentorship page.

That being said, you have a lot of competition and it is imperative that your application rises to the top of the pile that a program will have to review. The purpose of these courses is to: 1) show you what is possible with a genetic counseling degree so that you can have a clear goal to discuss when writing your application documents, 2) give you a thorough background of understanding of the field so that you can have deeper conversations with those who interview you, and 3) ensure you are setting yourself up for as much success as possible when entering graduate school.

Yep!  We have several options if you would like to chat “face to face”.  There is a 45 minute unstructured session you can choose if you have specific questions, need some cheerleading in your application process, etc. Alternatively, you can have a genetic counselor or even a program director review your application documents and give you feedback, or perform a mock interview.  Typically, these one-on-one sessions will not be with Mikayla as you've likely already learned what you can from her in the videos. However, several other counselors are contracted with GC Prep to provide these sessions. See the Education tab above for details.

Yes, please see the information in the financial aid tab! Completion of the demographics survey is required for aid.

Many reasons. First, you will not find this level of detail available anywhere else, so counselors who are willing to speak with you for free will typically not be able to provide you with the hours of instruction available here.

Second, genetic counselors deserve to be paid for their time. Many counselors are willing to answer some questions that potential applicants may have, but counselors are extremely busy.  Very few actually would have the bandwidth to provide free coaching along your journey or review your application documents. And if counselors aren’t being paid, that’s sending a message that their time is not valuable (which I hope you agree IS valuable since you want to be a genetic counselor) and I am assuming that you plan to be paid for your work in the future. 

Third, the few counselors offering informal guidance without cost still have day jobs, so it is not a scalable system. You would be competing with other potential applicants to find the very few counselors who are willing to take more than half an hour for a call. 

Fourth, because counselors are very busy and have to prioritize their patients and their families, it could take you a very long time to find one that is willing to give you more than half an hour for a phone call. Your time is also valuable.  You have better things to do with your life than try to cold contact a bunch of people who may or may not get back to you. You have a statement of purpose to write, schools to evaluate, etc.

Finally, we have found that the students who have contacted us (as individuals) in the past just weren’t sure what questions to ask and how to evaluate our answers. It’s not that they weren’t sincere, they just didn’t have the background knowledge to truly analyze the answers. These calls ended up feeling like a waste of our time and a waste of the student’s time.  These courses will give you a solid foundation to then ask specific questions of the GCs you are able to get in touch with and understand the answers they give you, and will point you in the direction of some genetic counselors who are willing to respond in a timely manner.