Program stats?

[i61164]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Is there any way to find out average board scores or class ranks for specific programs? I'm interested to know what kinds of scores would make me competitive. It's not that I'm worried about not being able to match in psych. I was just reading some good things about the psych residency at MUSC and wonder if I will have a shot at it even if I remain in the bottom 15% of my class. I'm not doing badly in my classes, I'm actually well above the pass mark. The problem is that our class average has been so high. On the last test the median was a 91%. I managed to get an 87% and for once I was actually less than a full standard deviation below the mean. After a while it gets depressing when you do really well and are still bringing up the rear. I've been trying to keep my spirits up with the thought that I can always match here at Wake Forest, but lately I've heard so many bad things about their psych department that the thought isn't cheering me up anymore.

 

[sga430]

Is there any way to find out average board scores or class ranks for specific programs? I'm interested to know what kinds of scores would make me competitive. It's not that I'm worried about not being able to match in psych. I was just reading some good things about the psych residency at MUSC and wonder if I will have a shot at it even if I remain in the bottom 15% of my class. I'm not doing badly in my classes, I'm actually well above the pass mark. The problem is that our class average has been so high. On the last test the median was a 91%. I managed to get an 87% and for once I was actually less than a full standard deviation below the mean. After a while it gets depressing when you do really well and are still bringing up the rear. I've been trying to keep my spirits up with the thought that I can always match here at Wake Forest, but lately I've heard so many bad things about their psych department that the thought isn't cheering me up anymore.

i am guessing ur an US grad. i would not worry as long as u pass both steps on the first attempt. u may not get a top tier program but as an US grad i think u will be even be able to go for 2nd tier. correct me if i am wrong. remember in psych 35% of the applicants r imgs and a lot of them r foreign citizens.

 

[i61164]

i am guessing ur an US grad. i would not worry as long as u pass both steps on the first attempt. u may not get a top tier program but as an US grad i think u will be even be able to go for 2nd tier. correct me if i am wrong. remember in psych 35% of the applicants r imgs and a lot of them r foreign citizens.

Thanks, that is encouraging. I will be a U.S. grad and as for the boards, I can't guarantee anything, but I certainly hope to pass on my first attempt. At my school they give us 4 weeks off before step 1 to study. To me it doesn't seem like enough, but almost everyone passes, so I am fairly confident that I can do it.

 

[i61164]

Out of curiosity, how am I going to know what programs are 1st tier, 2nd tier, etc. I'm not a big proponent of US News or anything, but it was nice to see average stats of schools so that you could get some idea of where to apply. I have never seen this type of data for residencies, so I'm not sure how you go about figuring out where to apply.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Out of curiosity, how am I going to know what programs are 1st tier, 2nd tier, etc. I'm not a big proponent of US News or anything, but it was nice to see average stats of schools so that you could get some idea of where to apply. I have never seen this type of data for residencies, so I'm not sure how you go about figuring out where to apply.

"Tiers" are mostly in the imagination of the beholder.
"1st tier" usually (around here anyhow) refers to large academically oriented programs--the ones who you always see on the US News lists. Some other academic centers might be considered "first tier" regionally, but not have a national reputation. "2nd tier" usually refers to community programs, which still offer very good training. The rest is just in the details--which you will see we LOVE to argue about here. 🙄

Think about where you'd like to live, and then apply to programs there.
Read back over some of the recent residency application threads for a flavor of what it's like...

 

[Hurricane]

Out of curiosity, how am I going to know what programs are 1st tier, 2nd tier, etc. I'm not a big proponent of US News or anything, but it was nice to see average stats of schools so that you could get some idea of where to apply. I have never seen this type of data for residencies, so I'm not sure how you go about figuring out where to apply.

I asked the program director of the psych program at my school. He knew a bit about my background and personality, and he asked some questions about my stats, then gave me a list of what he considered the best programs for what I wanted. I also asked some faculty for their opinion, as well as some R1s and R2s who had recently gone through the interview processes. Don't just rely on the US News reputation. For example, Harvard - which among the general population has an excellent reputation - has 4 psych residencies, but not all of them have the same reputation among psychiatrists. I never would have known that had I not asked more experienced people their opinions.