Chances of matching into top psychiatry programs?

[uialerbuilaehfuilr]

Just wondering how I can solidify my application. I hope to return to Manhattan w/ my fiance and family. Currently in a mid-tier (top 50) school on the east coast.

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

Poster Presentations - 6 (one at a national conference as the presenting author)
Research Projects - 5
Research Publication - 1 pending :\
Published in creative writing (I dunno if this counts lol)
National Research Scholar
Volunteer- 7 (Director of a student-run clinic and pushed lots of programs for the underserved, mentor are some)
Leadership- 6 (President of my school Psychiatry club, in my school's urban underserved program, Youth leader are some)
Gold Humanism Honor Society
Passed Step
Step 2- haven't taken
Honors in OBGYN, Neurosurgery, High Pass in everything else (psych pending!)
Rank: I foresee top 30
AOA: No
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).

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. Just hoping for insight to prep for the year.

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[clozareal]

You have a great chance. Do an away rotation at some of those places and express high interest and you'll be a shoe in.

 

[uialerbuilaehfuilr]

You have a great chance. Do an away rotation at some of those places and express high interest and you'll be a shoe in.

Thank you for your insight! I keep hearing psychiatry is getting competitive, do you think research is a must due to not having many pubs?

 

[clozareal]

Thank you for your insight! I keep hearing psychiatry is getting competitive, do you think research is a must due to not having many pubs?

You have posters. It would be better to have publications but it's not a must. You can ask your psych attendings about research projects, case series, case reports, and other publication opportunities and take the lead on some projects.

 

[mistafab]

Your app is fine for top places if you do well on step 2. That's the only remaining factor.

If that goes well, you'll get in the door but you need to apply broadly to top places. Even with your app you may suicide match if you restrict your app too much.

 

[clozareal]

Your app is fine for top places if you do well on step 2. That's the only remaining factor.

If that goes well, you'll get in the door but you need to apply broadly to top places. Even with your app you may suicide match if you restrict your app too much.

Agreed. I also don't know how OP will interview so that will also play a huge factor.

 

[dl2dp2]

You have a good shot. NYU and Sinai have large classes. The extra degree helps. Columbia and Cornell are more competitive and their dig pedigree more. I would consider doing an away to get more positive internal reviews. URM helps a LOT.

Psychiatry is getting competitive but programs in Manhattan sometimes are LESS competitive because people don't want to move there at that stage, and there are often more spots than desirable applicants.

 

[tr]

I think you'll be fine. Psych is more competitive than it used to be but it's still no derm.

If you didn't honor your psych rotation though, I'd try to do another psych rotation early fourth year and make sure to honor it.
Away rotation can be helpful if they like you but there's always the possibility that they won't (random interpersonal friction or whatever), in which case it may not be as helpful.

Also it's worth putting the effort in to do well on Step 2, which isn't that hard to achieve really, especially now since there's not much else in the way of hard numbers to look at, as Step 1 is p/f and a lot of schools have p/f preclinicals and h/hp clinicals (where ~50% of the class gets HP and the other 50% gets Honors so it really doesn't tell you much).

 

[Lexanoob]

A few tips!!
- make sure you signal programs and regions you are interested in
- since you’re interested in underserved communities and diversity, try to make it make “sense”; application review is like trying to get a sense of who someone is and if they fit in the program. If one persons extra curricular and etc all land around the same thing, I have a good sense of who they are and can imagine how they can fit in the program. This is to say that I personally don’t think you should stress about a publication if it doesn’t make sense with your interests, but more so shows your seriousness and commitment if it is related to what you are interested in.
-choose letter writers of people who you feel are invested in you. One super letter makes a huge difference.

 

[budda10000]

Just wondering how I can solidify my application. I hope to return to Manhattan w/ my fiance and family. Currently in a mid-tier (top 50) school on the east coast.

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

Poster Presentations - 6 (one at a national conference as the presenting author)
Research Projects - 5
Research Publication - 1 pending :\
Published in creative writing (I dunno if this counts lol)
National Research Scholar
Volunteer- 7 (Director of a student-run clinic and pushed lots of programs for the underserved, mentor are some)
Leadership- 6 (President of my school Psychiatry club, in my school's urban underserved program, Youth leader are some)
Gold Humanism Honor Society
Passed Step
Step 2- haven't taken
Honors in OBGYN, Neurosurgery, High Pass in everything else (psych pending!)
Rank: I foresee top 30
AOA: No
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).

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. Just hoping for insight to prep for the year.

Moderate, not high like others have said

Psych isn't super elitist in terms of numbers but the elite programs absolutely have a giant stick up their ass about where you went to medical school. It seems to be far more important than being AOA, super high board scores or research numbers. Speaking from experience being on the other end of all this crap and seeing very very qualified applicants(as in the type who can get neurosurg, ortho, derm) be mostly/completely snubbed by the IVY's in psych applications. They all ended up in great places, just not those places.

 

[DO_or_Die]

I think you'll be fine. I'm a DO and I've interviewed at very top programs. Granted I had an extremely strong clinical background before medicine but I've known other DO students who also interviewed Ivy leagues.