How do I know how competitive I am for psychiatry programs? How do I know which programs to signal?

[Infinate99]

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Hello everyone!

I am a current DO student applying only to psychiatry this cycle. I am having trouble figuring out what programs to send signals to. I would love to match at an academic program on the East Coast, but I don't know if I am competitive enough as a DO.

My stats include:
Step 1 & Level 1: passed
Step 2: 256
Level 2: 576
Publications: 1 publication (3rd author) with 4 presentations and one podium presentation. One case study that I presented.
Volunteer: multiple long-term experiences throughout medical school ( I think this is one of the strengths of my application)
Clubs: had a leadership role in PsychSIGN at my school
Letters of recommendation: two psychiatrist preceptors and a letter from an attending at an academic facility, but no PD psychiatry letter.
Honors: only honored on my psychiatry rotation, but I never failed a course or had any red flags on my application.

I would just love to hear if I can shoot for programs with less than 5% DOs or if I should try to send signals to programs with around 20% DOs. Also, how to divide up the 10 signals!

Thank you in advance, the advice is much appreciated!

 

[SPsych6]

I think you might find limited information about the Signals. My understanding is that this is only the 2nd year they are doing them, so most of us are unfamiliar unless we are actively in a residency program. Based on your scores you will be competitive if your personal statement is strong. The East Coast has a ton of schools, so I would expect you could match there. Are their things in your application that would make a program think you want to be there? (Like did you grow up in an area or state, or did you go to school in an area or state?) I would probably use most of the signals on programs you really want, and then a couple on some safer choices. I never did this process so kind of guessing.

Regarding the DO question, you are probably in a similar situation to US IMGs/Carribean applicants, which means you should try to signal a solid number of programs who have historically taken DOs in the past. 20% programs should be good, that's 1/5 per class. I think 5% is REALLY low. One DO per year, maybe per two years would be a much safer bet than one out of every 5-10ish years. Just my thoughts. It really is going to come down to your personal statement and interview though.

 

[comp1]

Pick a geographic center and apply to a large number of programs around that geographic center. The priority is always geography. There literally dozens of east coast programs. I'm not sure how many is enough for you. 30? And yes, we're all ignorant of how signaling works.

 

[Stagg737]

I'm a DO attending involved with the match at an academic center in the midwest. I'd advise you to use your signals on programs in the geographic region you're looking for at programs where you have a realistic shot. Maybe 1-2 reaches, but as a DO you probably should not bother signaling (or likely even applying to) where they have only accepted 1-2 DOs in the past 5+ years. It's a waste of a signal unless you have a connection there or that program just loves DOs from your school. I'd generally advise against signaling programs that accept <5% of DOs, but the basics of your app seem quite solid so that 20% mark you should do just fine.

I will say that when I applied (after the initial boom in "competitiveness") I was a much worse applicant than you, from the midwest, and I got an interview at an east coast academic program with 0 ties. It was not an "elite" program, but is quite solid from those I've talked to in the area and my limited experience with them.

I think you might find limited information about the Signals. My understanding is that this is only the 2nd year they are doing them, so most of us are unfamiliar unless we are actively in a residency program.

Pick a geographic center and apply to a large number of programs around that geographic center. The priority is always geography. There literally dozens of east coast programs. I'm not sure how many is enough for you. 30? And yes, we're all ignorant of how signaling works.

There is plenty of information about signals out there and it's not that hard. Applicants get 10 signals and basically send it to their top 10 programs. This is seperate from geographic preference specifiers. Here's a video covering many aspects of the application process in general. They talk about effects of signals around the 6 minute mark for about 2 minutes. Bottom line is both geographic preference that is listed along with signals matter, but signaling matters more, especially for DOs and IMGs.