Didn't Match Into Psychiatry. Taking a gap year. Looking for advice.

[ThanksForTheAdvice]

Hello,
I'm a US Allopathic Med Student. Step 1/2: 224/221. Passed CS on first attempt. Not great grades. Active CV. Did research, volunteered, some leadership, etc. I interviewed at 10 places, and I didn't match. All I've ever wanted to be for the the past 5 years was a psychiatrist, and I didn't want to SOAP into another field. My dean suggested that I delay my graduation and take a gap year, so I'm planning on doing research, taking step 3, doing some in-depth volunteerism, and doing an away rotation or two. Obviously, I'm going to apply to way more places and do some mock interviews.

I contacted the PDs for some of the programs that I didn't match into. Overall, they said there were some tweaks I could've made during interviews but no major red flags. It seems like I'm just unremarkable and didn't apply broadly enough.

Anyway, I would really appreciate some feedback on my plan for this year. If there are some more actionable steps I could take, I would love to hear them. Any advice will help.

Boy, had I known Psychiatry would've been competitive 3 years ago, I would've done a lot of medical school differently, but hindsight is 20/20.

Thanks.

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[evilbooyaa]

How many places did you apply to? How many interviews did you get?

To me those are scores (maybe that low step 2 is hurting) and grades that get you into psych somewhere, just maybe not top level psych? Could consider getting new letters if you felt any of them would be lukewarm.

 

[W19]

Sounds like you have a great plan... As you already mentioned in your post, apply broadly (~100 programs) next cycle.

A upper classman did not match last cycle (step1 ~210 and step2 220+). He did a TY and matched this time, but he told me the only thing that was added to his app this year was that TY and the # of programs he applied. Last cycle was ~60 and this cycle ~100.

 

[ThanksForTheAdvice]

How many places did you apply to? How many interviews did you get?

To me those are scores (maybe that low step 2 is hurting) and grades that get you into psych somewhere, just maybe not top level psych? Could consider getting new letters if you felt any of them would be lukewarm.

How many places did you apply to? How many interviews did you get?

To me those are scores (maybe that low step 2 is hurting) and grades that get you into psych somewhere, just maybe not top level psych? Could consider getting new letters if you felt any of them would be lukewarm.

Thanks for the reply! I applied to 52 places and interviewed at 10. I definitely will apply to way more places.

 

[sleepyhead22]

don't have any advice as I'm just an M1, but wanted to say that psychiatry is my main interest and the reason I am in med school and I'm really worried about how competitive it's getting! So sorry that this happened, but it sounds like your school is supporting you which is great.

 

[libertyyne]

don't have any advice as I'm just an M1, but wanted to say that psychiatry is my main interest and the reason I am in med school and I'm really worried about how competitive it's getting! So sorry that this happened, but it sounds like your school is supporting you which is great.

Just a theory, I think people didnt apply broadly enough . There are many programs that took non allo seniors, FMGs, IMGs etc.

 

[Stagg737]

I'm a US Allopathic Med Student. Step 1/2: 224/221. Passed CS on first attempt. Not great grades. Active CV. Did research, volunteered, some leadership, etc. I interviewed at 10 places, and I didn't match.

You're not the only one with stats like that in this situation. I know 1 or 2 people with better stats than that who didn't match psych this year and a few people with 15+ interviews who didn't match. It sucks, but there's a lot of stories like this in psych this year, and it's pretty surprising how many of the individuals who fit that profile are USMDs.

My dean suggested that I delay my graduation and take a gap year, so I'm planning on doing research, taking step 3, doing some in-depth volunteerism, and doing an away rotation or two. Obviously, I'm going to apply to way more places and do some mock interviews.

I contacted the PDs for some of the programs that I didn't match into. Overall, they said there were some tweaks I could've made during interviews but no major red flags. It seems like I'm just unremarkable and didn't apply broadly enough.

Normally finishing Step 3 is important for people with really poor boards who programs worry about not passing Step 3. It certainly won't hurt, but I don't think it'll be your key to success. I actually think taking the gap year and re-applying will do a lot as it will show true commitment for the field, which I think is important for psych. Also, if you can do some audition rotations I'd guess it will help you significantly. I've been told in the past that audition rotations aren't necessary for psych, but I think if you do well on them it will give you a huge leg-up next year.

I also think you may have done worse in interviews than you think. If you applied to reasonable programs and had 10 interviews, chances are a couple of them would have ranked you decently. Idk if that's the case, but I'd certainly talk to an interview coach or someone with some expertise so you can nail it next year.

Thanks for the reply! I applied to 52 places and interviewed at 10. I definitely will apply to way more places.

Were these all/mostly reasonable programs or were there a lot of reaches for your stats? My stats were significantly worse than yours and I matched without problem (and had several other PDs give me very positive responses). However I also applied mostly to places that I was sure I actually had a chance at. If you applied to 52 places and 35 of them were reaches, then you need to apply better next year.

Just a theory, I think people didnt apply broadly enough . There are many programs that took non allo seniors, FMGs, IMGs etc.

It may not be that people didn't apply to enough programs, but rather that people unknowingly failed to apply to enough "safety" programs. Especially since the number of interviews at which doing more provides diminishing returns for USMDs has pretty consistently been 8, so 10 interviews should have statistically been good for OP.

Also, while USMDs do commonly have an advantage over DOs and IMG/FMGs, there are plenty of times when this isn't the case. I know at my program there are several DOs in next year's class and I know at least 2 MDs who interviewed there and didn't match at all (both ranked the program). I know another who didn't match who interviewed at a program where classmates of mine matched (DOs). These people had stats that I would guess are similar to OP's with no red flags (from what they said). From what I've been seeing and hearing irl and in the attending forums, psych has been weirdly competitive for many people lately. Who knows yet if it's truly a trend, but it seems to be one at this point.

 

[Osteoth]

Thats nuts. I assumed psych was easy street and you could get in somewhere with a 200...

 

[W19]

Thats nuts. I assumed psych was easy street and you could get in somewhere with a 200...

Not anymore. The PD at my institution said it would not be surprised if average step1 climb up to 228 now...

 

[Brorthopedic]

P$ych is the new derm

 

[Mass Effect]

Thats nuts. I assumed psych was easy street and you could get in somewhere with a 200...

I don't think we need to get carried away, but psych was pretty competitive this year. Speaking as someone who interviewed applicants this year, I can tell you the board scores we saw were high and I'm at an academic university program. I think more people are discovering that psych offers a great lifestyle with flexibility to basically do whatever you want. Some want to just do therapy, some want to do only med checks, some want inpatient, some want to do strictly consultations for nursing homes and rehabs as an independent contractor, some want to do just evals for plastic surgery/bariatric surgery/etc., some want administrative roles in a hospital or clinic, some want to the research and publication track which is really growing, etc. I even ran into one person who wants to run one of those camps for troubled youth and the perfect way to do that as an MD is with psych. The possible ways in which to structure your career as a psychiatrist are endless with a little creativity and motivation.

 

[Osteoth]

Not anymore. The PD at my institution said it would not be surprised if average step1 climb up to 228 now...

Too lazy to look, what was the old board average?

P$ych is the new derm

lol.

I don't think we need to get carried away, but psych was pretty competitive this year. Speaking as someone who interviewed applicants this year, I can tell you the board scores we saw were high and I'm at an academic university program. I think more people are discovering that psych offers a great lifestyle with flexibility to basically do whatever you want. Some want to just do therapy, some want to do only med checks, some want inpatient, some want to do strictly consultations for nursing homes and rehabs as an independent contractor, some want to do just evals for plastic surgery/bariatric surgery/etc., some want administrative roles in a hospital or clinic, some want to the research and publication track which is really growing, etc. I even ran into one person who wants to run one of those camps for troubled youth and the perfect way to do that as an MD is with psych. The possible ways in which to structure your career as a psychiatrist are endless with a little creativity and motivation.

I'm not saying the people who are going into it don't have their reasons, I was just under the assumption that it was not a competitive field...

 

[deleted547631]

I'm not saying the people who are going into it don't have their reasons, I was just under the assumption that it was not a competitive field...

I say it’s getting the love it deserves and is no longer the FMG wasteland that it was once derided as being for the last 20+ years. The pendulum swings and this time Psych is rightfully swinging upwards!

Great pay ($265K mean on a 40hr/week according to Merritt-Hawkins)? Check!
Interesting cases and ability to fundamentally help someone manage and function in society? Check!
Ability to say EFF YOU to the hospital and open your own low-overhead private practice and run it with minimal bureacracy? Check!
Waiting lists six weeks out to see you the day you finish residency? Check!
Work-life balance? Check!
Moonlight and make $300K as a PGY3-PGY4 resident? Check!

 

[W19]

Too lazy to look, what was the old board average?



lol.



I'm not saying the people who are going into it don't have their reasons, I was just under the assumption that it was not a competitive field...

224 in 2016...

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Charting-Outcomes-US-Allopathic-Seniors-2016.pdf

 

[W19]

I say it’s getting the love it deserves and is no longer the FMG wasteland that it was once derided as being for the last 20+ years. The pendulum swings and this time Psych is rightfully swinging upwards!

Great pay ($265K mean on a 40hr/week according to Merritt-Hawkins)? Check!
Interesting cases and ability to fundamentally help someone manage and function in society? Check!
Ability to say EFF YOU to the hospital and open your own low-overhead private practice and run it with minimal bureacracy? Check!
Waiting lists six weeks out to see you the day you finish residency? Check!
Work-life balance? Check!
Moonlight and make $300K as a PGY3-PGY4 resident? Check!

Wow! Basically psych docs can earn 350k+ easily as long as they are willing to work 55 hrs/wk

 

[libertyyne]

I say it’s getting the love it deserves and is no longer the FMG wasteland that it was once derided as being for the last 20+ years. The pendulum swings and this time Psych is rightfully swinging upwards!

Great pay ($265K mean on a 40hr/week according to Merritt-Hawkins)? Check!
Interesting cases and ability to fundamentally help someone manage and function in society? Check!
Ability to say EFF YOU to the hospital and open your own low-overhead private practice and run it with minimal bureacracy? Check!
Waiting lists six weeks out to see you the day you finish residency? Check!
Work-life balance? Check!
Moonlight and make $300K as a PGY3-PGY4 resident? Check!

all that may be true, but there were still more psych positions than US seniors that applied. I think the top programs probably were a bloodbath this year.But also a lot of people who got caught off-guard and didnt apply broadly enough. I do want to see what charting outcomes has to say though.

 

[Osteoth]

I say it’s getting the love it deserves and is no longer the FMG wasteland that it was once derided as being for the last 20+ years. The pendulum swings and this time Psych is rightfully swinging upwards!

Great pay ($265K mean on a 40hr/week according to Merritt-Hawkins)? Check!
Interesting cases and ability to fundamentally help someone manage and function in society? Check!
Ability to say EFF YOU to the hospital and open your own low-overhead private practice and run it with minimal bureacracy? Check!
Waiting lists six weeks out to see you the day you finish residency? Check!
Work-life balance? Check!
Moonlight and make $300K as a PGY3-PGY4 resident? Check!

Wow! Basically psych docs can earn 350k+ easily as long as they are willing to work 55 hrs/wk

The one thing that I kind of question from the people I've talked and what I've read is that the real way to make money in psych is to do PP therapy and charge a significant hourly rate ($400+), but this, from my understanding, is hard to do on a full-time, 40-hour per week basis just based on provider's response and can take a significant amount of time to develop a practice.

What is y'alls understanding of this situation?

 

[deleted547631]

The one thing that I kind of question from the people I've talked and what I've read is that the real way to make money in psych is to do PP therapy and charge a significant hourly rate ($400+), but this, from my understanding, is hard to do on a full-time, 40-hour per week basis just based on provider's response and can take a significant amount of time to develop a practice.

What is y'alls understanding of this situation?

Yes, I’ve heard of $400+/hr in urban centers also. In fact, if you look up a few PP Psychiatrist’s personal websites you’ll find that they post their initial intake + typical med management & therapy hourly rates. These are cash rates in LA, Chicago, etc. The numbers I’ve been referring to have been from recent Psychiatrists taking on 24-48 hour weekend shifts where they typically clear about $6K-$10K+ over those two days for staying in-house (think locum tenens in ‘semi-rural’ PA psych hospitals, etc) twice a month. Hard work but it pays the bills and you can knock out a hefty student loan within 18 months if you wanted to.

 

[deleted547631]

all that may be true, but there were still more psych positions than US seniors that applied. I think the top programs probably were a bloodbath this year.But also a lot of people who got caught off-guard and didnt apply broadly enough. I do want to see what charting outcomes has to say though.

Yes, I agree with you. I think a lot of AMGs were ignoring community or other ‘lower tier’ programs. At the end of the day the patients will line up regardless of where you trained once you’re board certified.

 

[Stagg737]

Thats nuts. I assumed psych was easy street and you could get in somewhere with a 200...

It's not really easy street anymore, but you can still get in somewhere with low 200's if you shot-gun the application and have some solid strengths in other areas of the app. The thing people forget is that psych still values LORs and evals with significant weight, so lower board scores (or lack of USMLE in the case of DOs) aren't app killers like in other fields (yet).

Too lazy to look, what was the old board average?

In 2014 the USMD average for matched applicants was 220 and the overall average was somewhere around 216 (if you include the non-USMDS). In 2016 Average was 224. It's trending up pretty fast, but we'll have to wait for CTO to find out.

all that may be true, but there were still more psych positions than US seniors that applied. I think the top programs probably were a bloodbath this year.But also a lot of people who got caught off-guard and didnt apply broadly enough. I do want to see what charting outcomes has to say though.

There were more spots than USMD applicants, but if you throw DOs in the mix I guarantee there will be less spots than applicants. Plus this year around 250 USMDs didn't match psych and USMDs had below an 80% match rate for the field. Psych in general seems like it was rougher this year as whole than it has been in the past. CTO will be interesting to see for sure.

 

[NRP]

Yeah I wasn't able to match this year. I'm coming from the SE part of the states and applied to roughly 90ish programs. How is that for shotgun approach? Stats were slightly lower than OPs. I felt I had a lot of community programs and some brand new programs. If interview is the killer for someone like OP or me, does fixing that make matching a whole lot more likely?

 

[Stagg737]

Yeah I wasn't able to match this year. I'm coming from the SE part of the states and applied to roughly 90ish programs. How is that for shotgun approach? Stats were slightly lower than OPs. I felt I had a lot of community programs and some brand new programs. If interview is the killer for someone like OP or me, does fixing that make matching a whole lot more likely?

That's a solid shot-gun for a USMD. The question becomes how many interviews did you get? If it's very few and you applied reasonably to community programs, then you're missing a red flag somewhere. If you got plenty of interviews and didn't match then it sounds like you've got issues with interview skills or have some form of red flag they saw in person or you may just have been really unlucky. If your issue is your interview skills then of course fixing that will help with the match. Any time you can fix or improve your red flags or strengthen your app enough in other places that the red flags are able to be overlooked, you're going to do better. it's not rocket science, imo the hardest part is often just recognizing what the issue is, once that's done fixing it isn't that bad.

 

[Osteoth]

Yes, I’ve heard of $400+/hr in urban centers also. In fact, if you look up a few PP Psychiatrist’s personal websites you’ll find that they post their initial intake + typical med management & therapy hourly rates. These are cash rates in LA, Chicago, etc. The numbers I’ve been referring to have been from recent Psychiatrists taking on 24-48 hour weekend shifts where they typically clear about $6K-$10K+ over those two days for staying in-house (think locum tenens in ‘semi-rural’ PA psych hospitals, etc) twice a month. Hard work but it pays the bills and you can knock out a hefty student loan within 18 months if you wanted to.

So how do people configure their schedule to make that work? Weekend straight then then Monday off to recover, work Tues-Thurs PP therapy and Friday to travel/get ready for Saturday call?

 

[deleted547631]

So how do people configure their schedule to make that work? Weekend straight then then Monday off to recover, work Tues-Thurs PP therapy and Friday to travel/get ready for Saturday call?

Yes, with telepsych mixed in there, too.

Here's some PP websites for reference to rates:
CHICAGO PSYCHIATRISTS | Our Rates
Frequently Asked Questions

 

[Mad Jack]

Just a theory, I think people didnt apply broadly enough . There are many programs that took non allo seniors, FMGs, IMGs etc.

Most people are applying to what would have been considered absurdly broad in psychiatry four years ago. 50-60 programs seems common amongst those that went unmatched, which is about twice what previous wisdom recommended to begin with. For perspective, I dual applied to 8 IM programs and interviewed at half of them, psych I had to put out 58 apps for 9 interviews. Psych is in a very weird place right now and applicants were not prepared.

 

[Mad Jack]

That's a solid shot-gun for a USMD. The question becomes how many interviews did you get? If it's very few and you applied reasonably to community programs, then you're missing a red flag somewhere. If you got plenty of interviews and didn't match then it sounds like you've got issues with interview skills or have some form of red flag they saw in person or you may just have been really unlucky. If your issue is your interview skills then of course fixing that will help with the match. Any time you can fix or improve your red flags or strengthen your app enough in other places that the red flags are able to be overlooked, you're going to do better. it's not rocket science, imo the hardest part is often just recognizing what the issue is, once that's done fixing it isn't that bad.

Having talked with some PDs, interview skills weren't the problem in my not matching, or most people at the programs I interviewed for that matter . They just interviewed far more people than needed and barely dipped into their rank list, we're talking barely two spots per resident when they were interviewing ten plus per spot because in years prior that was what was needed. Because programs are interviewing far more applicants than required for each position, people are plummeting down their lists much faster than in prior years, and some people are just getting unlucky and not matching at all.

 

[Osteoth]

Yes, with telepsych mixed in there, too.

Here's some PP websites for reference to rates:
CHICAGO PSYCHIATRISTS | Our Rates
Frequently Asked Questions

Wait a second... So you're telling me 8 hours*$300/hr*300 days=$720,000.

Yet the average psychiatry salary like posted earlier is like $250k. What contributes to the gap?

 

[Stagg737]

Wait a second... So you're telling me 8 hours*$300/hr*300 days=$720,000.

Yet the average psychiatry salary like posted earlier is like $250k. What contributes to the gap?

Employed positions pay far, far less than that and you're overcalculating those PP salaries a bit. In most places employed positions will probably start between $200k-250k for most people obviously depending on hours/workload. Those positions are usually around 40 hours per week and most people are perfectly fine doing what they love, not having to deal with as much administrative BS, and still easily clearing $200k.

For PP, you have to build your practice, handle the utilities/overhead, deal with the billing, remind patients of their appointments, deal with no-shows/cancellations, deal with insurance companies if you're going to accept insurance, etc. So more work and takes longer to really see the big profits. Also, a better calculation would be $300 * 7hrs/day * 240 days/yr = $504k (get the 240 days from 5 days/wk * 48 wks). Still a ton of money, but keep in mind a lot of cash places are going to charge less than $300/hr unless they're in a pretty wealthy area, so geographic market can play a huge role. Also, you won't likely be seeing patients all 8 hours (unless you're working 10 hour days) once cancellations and no-shows are counted. Then you have to collect on all that, so unless you require payment at the time of the appointment you're also going to have some billed amount that is uncollected. It's still great pay for the amount of work, but you also have to want to do outpatient cash only in order to achieve this. If you're like me and enjoy inpatient far more, that option isn't as attractive.

 

[Stagg737]

Having talked with some PDs, interview skills weren't the problem in my not matching, or most people at the programs I interviewed for that matter . They just interviewed far more people than needed and barely dipped into their rank list, we're talking barely two spots per resident when they were interviewing ten plus per spot because in years prior that was what was needed. Because programs are interviewing far more applicants than required for each position, people are plummeting down their lists much faster than in prior years, and some people are just getting unlucky and not matching at all.

If I remember correctly, you were also interviewing in the NE area though, which from what I heard was the most competitive area this cycle, so makes sense programs wouldn't have to move very far down their rank lists to fill. The CTO data I'm most interested in is the average number of applications and interviews of matched vs. unmatched applicants. I'd also love to see data showing how far down their list the average matched applicant fell, but I can't remember if that's actually part of the CTO data or not. Either way, I think there's be some very significant changes in this years CTO compared to 2014 when psych was still considered one of the "if you have a pulse" fields.

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

Having talked with some PDs, interview skills weren't the problem in my not matching, or most people at the programs I interviewed for that matter.

You contacted places higher on your list after match?

 

[Mad Jack]

You contacted places higher on your list after match?

Oh god no. I don't want to be that guy. But I asked around and talked with a couple of PDs I know in the field that I didn't interview with and a few close friends that know PDs I interviewed with quite well and was able to kind of do a post-mortem on what went wrong in the NE, and potentially if I'd done anything wrong. There were just too many good applicants, and things were just too tight to fit everyone that wanted to be here in.

 

[Osteoth]

Employed positions pay far, far less than that and you're overcalculating those PP salaries a bit. In most places employed positions will probably start between $200k-250k for most people obviously depending on hours/workload. Those positions are usually around 40 hours per week and most people are perfectly fine doing what they love, not having to deal with as much administrative BS, and still easily clearing $200k.

For PP, you have to build your practice, handle the utilities/overhead, deal with the billing, remind patients of their appointments, deal with no-shows/cancellations, deal with insurance companies if you're going to accept insurance, etc. So more work and takes longer to really see the big profits. Also, a better calculation would be $300 * 7hrs/day * 240 days/yr = $504k (get the 240 days from 5 days/wk * 48 wks). Still a ton of money, but keep in mind a lot of cash places are going to charge less than $300/hr unless they're in a pretty wealthy area, so geographic market can play a huge role. Also, you won't likely be seeing patients all 8 hours (unless you're working 10 hour days) once cancellations and no-shows are counted. Then you have to collect on all that, so unless you require payment at the time of the appointment you're also going to have some billed amount that is uncollected. It's still great pay for the amount of work, but you also have to want to do outpatient cash only in order to achieve this. If you're like me and enjoy inpatient far more, that option isn't as attractive.

My big question is in terms of how hard it is to build a practice. I'm in a top-10 largest metropolitan city in the US, and I've seen PP psychiatrists whose offices are literally a desk for their computer, a couch and a couple of chairs. Utilities and overhead never really seemed the worst part of the equation.

For no shows/cancellations, not sure if you'd know this since you're not interested, but what percent of people require payment at time of appointment? If I decided to move to NYC after residency and open a cash-only, payment at time of appointment, $400/hr outpatient shop. What would the timeline to be in terms of setting up, and how big of a deterrence are no shows?

 

[Mass Effect]

If I remember correctly, you were also interviewing in the NE area though, which from what I heard was the most competitive area this cycle, so makes sense programs wouldn't have to move very far down their rank lists to fill. The CTO data I'm most interested in is the average number of applications and interviews of matched vs. unmatched applicants. I'd also love to see data showing how far down their list the average matched applicant fell, but I can't remember if that's actually part of the CTO data or not. Either way, I think there's be some very significant changes in this years CTO compared to 2014 when psych was still considered one of the "if you have a pulse" fields.

I think it's been quite a while since psych has been one of the "if you have a pulse" fields. Every year since my med school days, people are complaining that psych is getting more and more competitive and every year, people act like it happened overnight. It didn't. This has been building.

My big question is in terms of how hard it is to build a practice. I'm in a top-10 largest metropolitan city in the US, and I've seen PP psychiatrists whose offices are literally a desk for their computer, a couch and a couple of chairs. Utilities and overhead never really seemed the worst part of the equation.

For no shows/cancellations, not sure if you'd know this since you're not interested, but what percent of people require payment at time of appointment? If I decided to move to NYC after residency and open a cash-only, payment at time of appointment, $400/hr outpatient shop. What would the timeline to be in terms of setting up, and how big of a deterrence are no shows?

You seem to be extremely preoccupied with practice setup and money. Chill out. You shouldn't choose psych due to money potential. Choose it because you enjoy it. Figure out practice set up during your PGY3 or 4 year.

 

[Osteoth]

I think it's been quite a while since psych has been one of the "if you have a pulse" fields. Every year since my med school days, people are complaining that psych is getting more and more competitive and every year, people act like it happened overnight. It didn't. This has been building.



You seem to be extremely preoccupied with practice setup and money. Chill out. You shouldn't choose psych due to money potential. Choose it because you enjoy it. Figure out practice set up during your PGY3 or 4 year.

Don't tell me how to live my live bud . Autonomy is the highest priority is it not?

 

[softserve9898]

As someone who always intended to do psych this is terrifying. A friend of mine who is a top student at a state MD school in the tri state area ended up matching an inner city community program that just a couple years ago was exclusively IMGs and DOs. I feel like having had exposure to other fields, I would legit rather not be a doctor than do anything else in medicine.

I think a lot of people interested in Psych feel this way, and we entered med school with the specific intention to go into mental health. I wonder if at some point it's going to be just as crazy as going to med school with the sole intention of becoming a dermatologist...

 

[Poit]

Most people are applying to what would have been considered absurdly broad in psychiatry four years ago. 50-60 programs seems common amongst those that went unmatched, which is about twice what previous wisdom recommended to begin with. For perspective, I dual applied to 8 IM programs and interviewed at half of them, psych I had to put out 58 apps for 9 interviews. Psych is in a very weird place right now and applicants were not prepared.

If you don't mind me asking, what were your ballpark numbers/overall competitiveness? Feel free to pm me if you prefer.

 

[Mad Jack]

If you don't mind me asking, what were your ballpark numbers/overall competitiveness? Feel free to pm me if you prefer.

DO, 84th percentile COMLEX I, 96th percentile COMLEX II, USMLE Step 1 226, first time pass on all exams including the PE, second quartile in my class, good letters, lots of rotations in psych

 

[Poit]

DO, 84th percentile COMLEX I, 96th percentile COMLEX II, USMLE Step 1 226, first time pass on all exams including the PE, second quartile in my class, good letters, lots of rotations in psych

Wow, that's a pretty decent app.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

Hello,
I'm a US Allopathic Med Student. Step 1/2: 224/221. Passed CS on first attempt. Not great grades. Active CV. Did research, volunteered, some

Thanks.

How much research? Any pubs in psych?