Can anyone shed light as to how competitive Mayo is?

[nighthawk2551]

Posting with throwaway. Mayo in MN is my top choice residency, and I haven't been able to get a good feel for how competitive it is. With rank lists being submitted soon, I'm just curious what my odds are. I know in general psychiatry is much less competitive than other fields. Mayo has a reputation for being ultra-competitive in most specialties, but for psychiatry I haven't gotten that feel. From what I can tell programs on the coasts are generally much more competitive, and midwest programs less so. I have pretty competitive stats (low 250's step 1, little higher step 2, AOA, some research, etc), but I also get the feel that's not super important for psych. I think my interviews went pretty well, but I'm not sure I knocked it out of the park. Can anyone shed any light onto the relative competitiveness of Mayo? How far down their rank list they go? Will not being from MN affect ranking at all? Thanks!

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[wolfvgang22]

My info is 10 years old, but I felt it was average to above average competitiveness when I interviewed there as an above average stats US IMG. It sounds like you are well qualified yourself. I doubt Mayo has changed a whole lot in 10 years and is still competitive but not top 10 competitive for Psychiatry, but maybe more recent candidates or faculty might chime in here.

I put it in my top 4 but not #1 because the residents worked very hard and seemed tired and because it snows a lot and was far from home for me at the time. I think it is educationally fantastic and really enjoyed my brief visit there.

 

[nighthawk2551]

I put it in my top 4 but not #1 because the residents worked very hard and seemed tired and because it snows a lot and was far from home for me at the time.

Definitely the toughest call schedule I saw during interviews, and one of the only that had call 4th year. Not really sure why considering most places I interviewed at were also larger academic centers.

 

[Amygdarya]

I have pretty competitive stats (low 250's step 1, little higher step 2, AOA, some research, etc), but I also get the feel that's not super important for psych. I think my interviews went pretty well, but I'm not sure I knocked it out of the park. Can anyone shed any light onto the relative competitiveness of Mayo?

Jeez. Neuroticism is strong in this one. With your *stats* you're very competitive at *any* psychiatry program, and Mayo psychiatry is nowhere near as competitive as big name programs located (mostly) on the coasts. In fact, I'm surprised you're choosing this above average program in the frozen tundra that is Rochester, MN, while I'm quite sure you must have interviewed at stronger programs in much more liveable places. But whatever floats your boat.

Bottom line is, as long as you behaved like a reasonably likeable human being during your interview, Mayo will be ecstatic to have you. It may be a good idea to send them a love letter to reassure them that you really want to be there (something they may not be sure of given your stellar stats and lack of connections to MN). Otherwise try to find something better to occupy yourself with till March 16th.

 

[nighthawk2551]

Jeez. Neuroticism is strong in this one. With your *stats* you're very competitive at *any* psychiatry program, and Mayo psychiatry is nowhere near as competitive as big name programs located (mostly) on the coasts. In fact, I'm surprised you're choosing this above average program in the frozen tundra that is Rochester, MN, while I'm quite sure you must have interviewed at stronger programs in much more liveable places. But whatever floats your boat.

Bottom line is, as long as you behaved like a reasonably likeable human being during your interview, Mayo will be ecstatic to have you. It may be a good idea to send them a love letter to reassure them that you really want to be there (something they may not be sure of given your stellar stats and lack of connections to MN). Otherwise try to find something better to occupy yourself with till March 16th.

I just honestly don't think stats like that are all that rare among psych applicants. I know of at least 2 other AOA members in my class going into psych. Mayo takes 9 residents per year, and I guarantee they interview way more than 9 people with comparable stats to me. And I'm sure people with relatively worse stats get in, so it isn't like test scores are all they care about. The one thing an adcom member did say is that the location does scare some people off, but I can imagine it's still a pretty competitive program.

 

[FlowRate]

I just honestly don't think stats like that are all that rare among psych applicants. I know of at least 2 other AOA members in my class going into psych. Mayo takes 9 residents per year, and I guarantee they interview way more than 9 people with comparable stats to me. And I'm sure people with relatively worse stats get in, so it isn't like test scores are all they care about. The one thing an adcom member did say is that the location does scare some people off, but I can imagine it's still a pretty competitive program.

These numbers are illustrative, not exact, but also probably not far off:
Psych "top 10ish" probably interview a common set of the top ~100 applicants in psychiatry. Given the "top 10ish" programs are usually larger programs with ~150 spots available and some "top 100" applicants make decisions based on things other than prestige, there are plenty of spots left over for people who aren't "top 100" applicants. Your stats, at least, place you in that "top 100." So stop worrying about a random program that should be a shoo-in. If you want Mayo, you'll get Mayo (unless they think you're not serious or if you were weird on interview day. You can influence the former and can't change the latter.)

Edit: Some more info-- in 2016 there were 61 applicants in psychiatry with Step 1 > 250 and 130 with Step 1 > 240. So my numbers are actually pretty accurate in that regard.

We've now checked the facts. It's up to you to radically accept the reality that you're more than qualified to be ranked to match at Mayo and that you can't change your interview day performance or your CV. The productive things to do now would be email a letter of interest and engage in other distractions. Ruminating on this subject will not be productive.

 

[Psychotic]

Definitely the toughest call schedule I saw during interviews, and one of the only that had call 4th year.

Oh my...why subject yourself to this? Nuts...

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

Oh my...why subject yourself to this? Nuts...

Oh my...why subject yourself to this? Nuts...

Especially when mayo psych is not even close to the same thing as mayo internal medicine or surgery or a fellowship in a surgical sub specialty. People not from the Midwest don’t really appreciate that it seems.

 

[Doc1401]

Posting with throwaway. Mayo in MN is my top choice residency, and I haven't been able to get a good feel for how competitive it is. With rank lists being submitted soon, I'm just curious what my odds are. I know in general psychiatry is much less competitive than other fields. Mayo has a reputation for being ultra-competitive in most specialties, but for psychiatry I haven't gotten that feel. From what I can tell programs on the coasts are generally much more competitive, and midwest programs less so. I have pretty competitive stats (low 250's step 1, little higher step 2, AOA, some research, etc), but I also get the feel that's not super important for psych. I think my interviews went pretty well, but I'm not sure I knocked it out of the park. Can anyone shed any light onto the relative competitiveness of Mayo? How far down their rank list they go? Will not being from MN affect ranking at all? Thanks!

Mayo is not Emory or MGH for psych but no one is certainly going to question your training if you go there. They have some pretty strong research tied to the residency program despite it being a more clinically run hospital. The weather is always a negative but the weather is not that great in Boston either. Can’t go wrong.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I agree with the other posters here. I myself chose to do residency in an "average" prestige program in a warm, sunny location with no call after PGY2. I don't regret forgoing more prestigious programs in cooler climates and more call or other rigor. In fact, I'll probably move back once family situations allow it.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Residency competitivess in psych is generally localized to the coasts.

While Mayo is a perfectly fine program, it isn’t that competitive.

 

[splik]

they'll take anyone

 

[nighthawk2551]

Since a few people put forth somewhat lukewarm feelings towards Mayo, can anyone shed a little more light on the negatives of the Mayo program?

 

[Seroquel]

As others have said, it's more of a middle road program and I think the name recognition is more so for the other departments. A negative for me was the lack of population diversity (not just ethnic but also socioeconomic) which isn't a fault of Mayo but due to the location. The program also felt quite formal to me and I did not meet any interns on interview day (gave me the impression that they work hard). But I really liked the program as a whole. FWIW, I got a rank to match email from them and I was a very average-below average US MD.