Am I competitive for top psychiatry residencies?

[uialerbuilaehfuilr]

I have posted previously, but wanted to update some of my stats because my feedback from my advisors is that psychiatry is more competitive and I'm not as competitive as I've hoped.

URM, demonstrated interest in psych from undergrad. Have an MPH with applied practice in neurodiversity and advocacy.

Poster Presentations - 8 (one at a national conference as the presenting author)
Research Projects - 6
Research Publication - do not expect to get a publication from research right now. I'm trying but am hitting a roadblock.
Published in creative writing (I dunno if this counts lol)
National Research Scholar - started a screening at a shelter for children
Volunteer- 7 (Director of a student-run clinic and pushed lots of programs for the underserved, mentor for undergrad students)
Leadership- 6 (PsychSign, President of my school Psychiatry club, in my school's urban underserved program, youth leader, ect.)
Gold Humanism Honor Society
Passed Step
Step 2- 255 (hoped for 260 but my last week I burned out)
Honors in OBGYN, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, and Neurology. High Pass in everything else.
Rank: I foresee top 30, we wont know till June
AOA: No as of yet, I wont know till June
Evals have honesty been pretty good, no red flags
Really interested in bridging underserved/underresourced gaps and diversity in communities. eventually will apply child psych. (used to be a teacher, love the kiddos).
I have an away at Columbia before interview season, no additional aways set up.
I have recommendations for the Director of Child Psychiatry unit at a hospital near me, Director of Internal Medicine residency, Director of Family Medicine Residency, and my psychiatry subI. All worked with closely and got good evaluations.
Personal statement is primarily about how I navigated working with underserved communities (in the urban underserved program) when my dad got diagnosed with cancer my first week of rotations, and how I truly used psychiatry in all my rotations (would also love feedback on the topic)

Maybe I'm being neurotic, but I would love to match at Columbia, NYU, Cornell, or Mount Sinai. I have specific reasons, I know they aren't the only programs out there and they aren't the only ones I'll apply to ofc. Just hoping for insight to prep for the year.

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[Celexa]

Nothing in life is guaranteed but you are competitive to apply to those programs and certainly have a good shot. Just don't ONLY apply to the most prestigious places and send at least a few signals to less competitive programs.

 

[uialerbuilaehfuilr]

Nothing in life is guaranteed but you are competitive to apply to those programs and certainly have a good shot. Just don't ONLY apply to the most prestigious places and send at least a few signals to less competitive programs.

Thank you for your response!

 

[comp1]

Yes, you're being neurotic. It's good to be honest with yourself about that kind of thing. You have a great application. Will you absolutely match to the most competitive programs? Eh, maybe? They have a lot of applicants with your top tier credentials. I think you'll get an interview at most of those if you have a tie to the area, but it'll come down to how personable and enjoyable you are to actually speak with. Do they want to spend the next 4 years being around you? You actually don't have a lot of control over that given the time frame that is remaining. Restructuring your whole personality is probably not in the cards right now. Back to your neuroticism. Why do you care? You said you have "specific reasons" for wanting to get into a bunch of NYC programs. What are they? There are a lot of great reasons for wanting to be in NYC (although CA for life for me personally). If your goal is geography, that's very commendable and MUCH more important to your life long term than the intangible "quality" of any given program.

 

[uialerbuilaehfuilr]

Yes, you're being neurotic. It's good to be honest with yourself about that kind of thing. You have a great application. Will you absolutely match to the most competitive programs? Eh, maybe? They have a lot of applicants with your top tier credentials. I think you'll get an interview at most of those if you have a tie to the area, but it'll come down to how personable and enjoyable you are to actually speak with. Do they want to spend the next 4 years being around you? You actually don't have a lot of control over that given the time frame that is remaining. Restructuring your whole personality is probably not in the cards right now. Back to your neuroticism. Why do you care? You said you have "specific reasons" for wanting to get into a bunch of NYC programs. What are they? There are a lot of great reasons for wanting to be in NYC (although CA for life for me personally). If your goal is geography, that's very commendable and MUCH more important to your life long term than the intangible "quality" of any given program.

I personally would wish to be close to family, and my partner in NYC (they live there, want to see my dad more, and wish to train in a strong institution)! I definitely understand that I'm gonna apply broadly, not all strong institutions are in NYC nor are they prestigious, but was unsure if I should even shoot high for so many NYC residencies (California sounds like a dream though!) Just looking at my options 🙂

 

[comp1]

VERY good perspective! Focus on geography. Having your family and partner around is a heck of a lot more important than the quality of any given program. At the end, you still graduate with board certification regardless.

 

[nexus73]

I personally would wish to be close to family, and my partner in NYC (they live there, want to see my dad more, and wish to train in a strong institution)! I definitely understand that I'm gonna apply broadly, not all strong institutions are in NYC nor are they prestigious, but was unsure if I should even shoot high for so many NYC residencies (California sounds like a dream though!) Just looking at my options 🙂

This is a great answer as to why NYC. Having answers and/or questions that demonstrate your knowledge of why a program is strong will also be important.

 

[HaileyMed]

Program prestige IS something that CAN matter and have an impact on your life outcomes. Depending on your pursuits, it doesn't hurt to have the connection/networking as well as the opportunity that can come with it. Controversial opinion, I know. I would even factor in that regarding undergraduates prestige has shown that it can make a difference for the trajectory of low-income and URM students, especially. I'd say it's one factor and how much it matters depends on what your goals are in the future and what opportunities would be afforded to you. But anyone who says "it doesn't matter at all" is taking too much of a one size fits all approach.

To me personally program fit is probably the most important thing (beyond geographic location and prestige). What's the point in going to a prestigious program if you're not going to finish it because you're unhappy, disagree with, or can't align with their expectations/mission? Go to the place where you feel like you'd be most happy. Geographic location, prestige, where your family is and school fit are all only pieces of the puzzle. But don't let someone shame you (or call you neurotic) for considering prestige lol.

That said, remember that prestigious programs thrive off of choosing people they EXPECT to be hyper-successful or are ALREADY hyper-successful. That's what keeps them prestigious and that's what makes them look good.

I can't say whether you're competitive for any place without seeing your application though, but I would assume based off of what you shared that you'll get interviews if your personal statement and LORs are good and explain why you're interested in their programs, and you explain your seed/motivation for psychiatry in a compelling way.