Writing your personal statement is usually the most difficult part of the genetic counseling application. Writing an impactful personal statement takes a lot of time, reflection, and many, many drafts! Many applicants spend months curating their personal statement, and usually applicants have to write multiple - one for each program they are applying to.
The purpose of a personal statement is to introduce yourself to the admissions committee beyond your academic achievements. This is where you explain your interest and passion in genetic counseling, demonstrate why you're a good fit for the program, and highlight unique experiences and qualities that make you a strong candidate for their program. While it's impossible to provide tailored advice for writing personal statements that applies to all GC programs, here are some things to consider as you work through creating your personal statement.
It's impossible to draft a personal statement that will appeal to every program.
Every program is looking for something different in a personal statement. There isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy or magic formula that will guarantee an interview. This is why getting to know the programs you are applying to is important. Think about how the program presents itself, and what they focus on for their students. You can usually glean this information from talking with program leadership, reading their mission statement, looking through their curriculum, and talking to current students/alumni. Being aware of what a program is looking for in an applicant can help you decide what to showcase on your personal statement. Some parts of your personal statement can be applicable to multiple schools, but expect to revise your statement based on their prompts, specifications, and values of the program.
Find a balance between tailoring your statement to the program, while still presenting your authentic self.
As an applicant, it can be difficult to find the balance between tailoring your personal statement to a program and showcasing who you are as a person. It can be even harder to find that line if you are unsure if your authentic self will be viewed positively by admissions. Personal statements are meant to be a reflective piece of writing, which usually means being vulnerable and open. For some applicants, this is a very difficult thing to do, especially for those who experience discrimination in society. How much you choose to share about yourself is a very personal decision. If transparency within your program is important to you, you may opt to disclose more in your personal statement to ensure you are a good fit with that program.
Do not limit your experiences to those listed on your CV/Resume.
You, undoubtedly, have a laundry list of impressive experiences on your CV/Resume. You should include some of these in your personal statement, but don't limit yourself to only those experiences. This statement is meant to reflect who you are, your passion for genetic counseling, and why you will be a great genetic counselor. Our passions, values, and beliefs have been developing since birth, and we are shaped by all the experiences in our lives, not just the things we did to apply for graduate school. Think about what experiences have shaped you as a person, and how that relates to your passion and readiness to be a genetic counselor.
Don't shy away from writing about emotionally complex experiences. The nature of genetic counseling is emotionally heavy and complex, and these experiences can be a great way to show growth, reflection, and perseverance. Lean into the discomfort of those experiences, but be cautious writing about something that you are still trying to process.
Have others review your personal statement.
It's important to have at least one other person read your personal statement. When you write your statement, you know the context of what you are writing, and the intended message or impact. The admissions committee doesn't have that same insight, and may not interpret it the way you intended. Having someone else review your statement can help find gaps, and let you know what they took away from your statement.
Critically assess your feedback.
It's important to get feedback on your personal statement, but all feedback should be carefully considered. Everyone is different, and has different points of view. No one but the admissions committee knows what that program is looking for, so all feedback is subjective to the reviewers' perspectives and experiences. If you are unsure about a piece of feedback, get another opinion. It's okay to disagree with feedback, even if that feedback is from a genetic counselor.
A great way to critique feedback is to ask them to explain their reasoning about a particular piece of feedback. This will give you insights into their thought process, and if you agree or disagree with it.
General Tips:
Make sure you answer the prompt. Everything you write about should be supporting details for the original prompt. Make sure your personal statement comes full circle.
Include all information requested. Usually, programs will ask applicants to include their Match ID in certain documents.
Do not go over the specified page, character, or word limit. GC programs get an overwhelming number of applications, and these limits are intentional. Do not give them a reason to dismiss your application over something trivial! Following these rules also shows your attention to detail.
Check for spelling and grammar errors. There are tools to help with this, such as Grammarly. Most word processing programs have a spell check integrated into the program. Do not solely rely on these tools, as they are not perfect and can miss things.
Submit in PDF format if possible. This is to ensure consistent formatting of your personal statement. Word documents are prone to formatting distortion, and can cause unnecessary confusion for the admissions committee. The exception to this is if a program requests your statement in another format.
A curriculum vitae, or CV for short, is a chance to showcase all of your professional work and experiences. A resume, by contrast, provides a single page snapshot.
Look online for tips on how to format and draft CVs. There are many examples out there!
Make sure each section of your CV is uniform in formatting, font size, and language style.
CVs can be rearranged depending on your experiences. Keep the impressive and most relevant sections towards the front and the less relevant sections towards the back.
Just like resumes, use action words to describe what you did and how it made an impact. You can find a great guide for action verbs on page 55 of the George Mason Career Readiness Guide.
Be concise but descriptive; you do not need to use full sentences.
Try to avoid abbreviations, as not everyone may know what they stand, but define them on first mention if you do use them.
There are a lot of requirements and experiences to include on your CV. Adding sections can help the admissions committee more easily navigate your CV, which means more attention on the actual content. Consider including sections like:
advocacy experience
teaching experience
research experience
counseling experience
shadowing experience or genetic counseling exposure
volunteer experience
Remember to add details about your experiences. For example, for shadowing experiences you want to include certain details like the GC's name, where you shadowed, what specialty you shadowed, and number of hours shadowed.
Include things like awards, scholarships, publications, research studies, your thesis, any professional memberships/licenses, any conferences you’ve attended, and other relevant activities or skills
Consider including a section with professional interests to show the admissions committee what type of specialty or professional topics you are interested in