Thanks for the response! I actually have both of those programs on my longer list with about 60 or so programs. I have actually heard great things about the UofL program. Also, do you think my list is appropriate for my stats or does it need to be adjusted? I tried to get a general idea for how competitive programs are, but it's kind of tough to gauge as someone who has never been through the process before.
Even without research that's a very strong application. I think you'll match wherever you want. Glad to see people are thinking of BWH/BI as strong programs individually (they are).
Thank you, will do. It's hard not to overdo it though, kids in my class are applying to 40+ programs. I'll try to limit myself to 30, and do a max of 13 interviews.
Apply to them all! You've definitely got the numbers for them, if you can come off genuinely interest in psych on your apps with regional ties then you've got a great chance at interviewing for most of them.
Read my post above (and others to DOs in this thread on earlier pages). Seriously consider adding a back-up specialty. Which AOA programs? (You can PM me if you're not comfortable saying here). Good luck on the away rotations.
You're allopathic and competitive. You will be fine.
I hear ya @sloop I will be applying next year, so I don't have all of my application data yet, but I expect to be a decent applicant and, coming of a "brand name" school in the Northeast I'm quite confident that I'm going to match *somewhere* in psychiatry. The problem is, I have very strong geographic preferences and certain interests and career goals that I don't want to end up just *anywhere*. Which does induce some anxiety even a year ahead of my application cycle. So, even though it's definitely a better problem to have than not matching at all, I understand you.
This is entirely fair - but the point still stands. You will be "fine" for top-tier programs, in the sense that once your board scores are at some level, your grades are some level, you have a shot at an interview just like everyone else. After that, these programs have their pick from the cream of the crop, so we can't really say much beyond that. They'll probably give spots to folks with 20+ publications, spots to people who were born in a refugee camp and involved in that kind of stuff through college/med school, spots to athletes, spots to people who were really fun to work with on a Sub-I, spots to someone who was just super interesting to talk to on interview day, or a million other things. Of course, that kind of stuff is hard to gauge on a forum like this, and even if we did have that information, its not like we know what any given program really wants at this point in time.
This reminds me of the advice I got during my medical school application cycle, which I believe still stands for residency applications: don't get too attached to any one school/program. First of all, even with great stats, given the number of applicants, individual idiosyncrasies and pure dumb luck (or lack thereof), there is always an element of chance in where you end up going to, which is neither your fault nor something you can control. Second, your favorite place may disappoint you, and the place you end up at may turn out to be just the right fit for you. Che sara sara.
Definitely check out the stickies for the DO FAQs and DO "friendly" programs. I know of a few colleagues who did well with COMLEX only and one had scores on the lower end, although she had a decent amount of research. My advice is to not let anecdotes keep you from applying somewhere because you may be surprised when you take a chance. Just play it smart in terms of spreading yourself out to cover that rule of 1/3s you may so often hear of.
Hey I missed your initially post above (downside of scrolling with my older iPhone during a break). Check out some of my other posts here. You have good COMLEX scores, so no worries there. Not having a USMLE may keep you out of the running for a few places but then again, those places may likely be a tough draw even with solid Steps in the bag. Just be smart in terms of where you apply and accept invites from. Rule of 1/3s, relatively speaking. ("One man's ceiling is another man's floor" kinda thing). Check out any DO related stickies; they're all pretty solid. Read over the interview reviews (which I'm sure you're doing already) and start mapping out a plan. (I used Google maps to start getting an idea of how things were looking geographically and to take notes on places. Probably not necessary but it was fun, for me at least).
Solid application w really good scores. The scores alone will keep you in the mix. Your mentioned concerns are not red flags at all. DO schools notorious for not allowing sufficient board prep time following/during M2. I also took a month to study although it was an official trade off (essentially giving up a vacation block in M3) for the structured studied month (where we actually received a grade). So it wasn't an LOA. Was yours officially a LOA? What does it say on transcript and did this put you off schedule? Depending on what that says, I would think about explicitly explaining this somewhere on ERAS. If you're on schedule, I don't think it will matter (and may not even be noticed).
Do well on step 2 and you're a top tier psychiatry applicant. You are the type of applicant I'd want if I was a PD.
Solid scores. Tri-state still a tough draw. If NYC keep SLR, Maimo, SIUH, RWJ in mind. The others are either out of your reach or sweatshops (except maybe LIJ which is within reach but still likely competitive). Be sure to apply beyond the area. If you do, I'd imagine you will do quite well for yourself. You can do extremely well in so-called fly-over country if you give it a shot. Best of luck.
You'll get a decent amount of interviews, I imagine! Maybe not at every place but RCSI is a well known medical school in the states and we have a co-intern here in Boston from there.
