DO Applicant for Northwestern psych program?

[Fatility]

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I'll be applying to Psych next year and am very interested in Northwestern's program. Wondering if any of you have any insight as to how difficult it is for a DO to gain acceptance to their program. I only saw on resident who is a DO on the resident page. I had a USMLE step 1 in the 240s and will be taking my step 2 in July.

 

[Shufflin]

No matter what we even say, apply to the programs you are truly interested in.

To answer your question though, getting into Northwestern is competitive in the Midwest region and taking a glance at the current residents should give you some insight about the MD to DO ratio there.

http://psychiatry.northwestern.edu/education/residency-program/current-residents/

 

[Bartelby]

No matter what we even say, apply to the programs you are truly interested in.

I agree with this. To add a little advice: apparently you can write different personal statements to send to different schools in ERAS. If Northwestern is really your dream school I would consider writing one personal statement tailored to them that explains exactly why that is so. That might get you an interview and a chance to impress them. Also consider doing an away rotation there so that they can get to know you.

Looking at the list of current residents you are fighting an uphill battle, but if the rest of your application matches your step score I think you have a real shot.

 

[ScienceMind]

Hey,

I would also consider applying to UIC in addition to Northwestern Univ. I am a DO and did my residency at UIC (graduated 2011) and now doing child psych fellowship in California. I can honestly say that you will get excellent training in either program and wish you the best of luck. Based solely on your scores, you are competitive, however you need to apply broadly to give yourself more options, in case you need them. In reality, there are "old school" programs that do not like D.O.'s, but that is more rare and will only affect you if you do not apply broadly. Good luck.