Dipping to a “lower prestige” school for away

[psyspy]

Thoughts on doing this if it’s a program you think you’ll like and want to train at, but happens to be a “lower caliber” school than the one you’re at?

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[TexasPhysician]

I don’t see a problem if you are doing it to evaluate whether it should be #1 on your list. Bring your A game. If you don’t see it being near the very top, I’d look at better programs.

 

[psyspy]

Is this commonly done? From what I see most people doing aways seem to be “shooting up” relative to their med school rather than “shooting down”

 

[TexasPhysician]

Is this commonly done? From what I see most people doing aways seem to be “shooting up” relative to their med school rather than “shooting down”

Most people “shoot up”. I’ve also seen people that feel they are 100% wanting a single program and they do 2-3 aways there despite being a lower program to help ensure a spot.

 

[Celexa]

It's completely reasonable to do this if it's somewhere you are really interested in (and will def provide the program with tangible proof of your interest). The downside is it's high risk high reward--you can guarantee your spot by doing well, or end up revealing your weaknesses that can hidden in an application but not in an actual rotation.

 

[Stagg737]

Most people “shoot up”. I’ve also seen people that feel they are 100% wanting a single program and they do 2-3 aways there despite being a lower program to help ensure a spot.

This is what I did, was specifically interested in my top choice and did electives there to make connections. Worked out well for me, but if you're better on paper than in person it could easily backfire.

 

[docksan]

Thoughts on doing this if it’s a program you think you’ll like and want to train at, but happens to be a “lower caliber” school than the one you’re at?

My immediate thought:

Who cares

 

[whopper]

Not enough information. "Lower prestige" is not specific enough.

I will say some of the worse psych programs, as expected, will not teach you enough in some areas but I don't know what this person means by "lower prestige." I've also seen some research programs of high prestige be great for teaching research but not be any good at teaching clinical psychiatry.

 

[FlowRate]

Well it certainly happens in situations when students from Harvard, Stanford, etc. want to go somewhere else. Although I generally agree with the advice that aways should primarily be for less competitive candidates who are confident that their clinical and interpersonal skills far outshine their application materials. Too much risk of running into that one pathological attending in the program or making an uncharacteristic social mistake and having it ruin your reputation with the program, otherwise.

 

[Dharma]

"Prestige" matters not. Do they have a residency program known for training clinically strong psychiatrists? If so, I say go, assuming you have the goods. A solid rotation will land you on the wish list come ranking. As long as you bring your A-game you're good. On the other hand, it can also have you on the DNR side of things should you ruffle feathers of even one resident. I've sat through too many of those meetings and have seen that paper-perfect med student's chances destroyed in a matter of seconds amongst a harsh scrutinizing crowd.

 

[clozareal]

Is this commonly done? From what I see most people doing aways seem to be “shooting up” relative to their med school rather than “shooting down”

If you really want it then do it. It will help show that you are serious about the program and will help you network with those who make the decision on where to rank you. I didn't get interviews at some residencies that were considered "lower caliber" than my medical school albeit had strong reasons for my wanting to go there.