Help for MS4 to gauge competitiveness?

[chunkraccoon]

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I'm an MS4 who didn't realize I wanted to go into psychiatry until the very end of my 3rd year, so I feel like I'm late to the psych train and confused on how to tell if I'm a competitive applicant especially as everyone is telling me that psychiatry is getting competitive. Idk if this is the place to post this but seeking some opinions solely based on stats: I passed step 1 the first try, scored 266 on step 2, honored psych and IM (high passed the others), got some posters and publications but none psych-related, lots of service, mentorship, and leadership-related activities. I'm mainly interested in NE programs like CHA, BU, BIDMC because I love the area and my partner's field of work is booming there, but I'm not from the region and I've heard they 1. love regional applicants and 2. care about psych research. Based only on what little I've given, am I delusional to think of using signals on these programs or should I stick closer to home / less competitive programs? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[comp1]

As always, pick one area where you want to live and apply/signal the programs of all degrees of competitiveness in that geographic area with the exact size of the area determined by the number and variety of programs in it (it won't be big in Boston, will be in Nebraska). If your partner is your tie to a geographic area, that is sufficient when you explain it. It doesn't HAVE to be where you are from, it just has to be where you plan to live the rest of your life and you have to be able to explain why that's the case (since it is statistically true). Your stats are fine. Some places care about research, but it is certainly not common. They aren't"t hiring you as a researcher unless you are matching into a research track
Matching will come down to your interviews, not anything else.