WAMC: Psych?

[lagunabeach26]

Hi everyone, current mid-low tier USMD 4th year who is applying psychiatry. Step 1 pass, Step 2: 244. No red flags, school has graded curriculum so got all A's/B's. Couple of publications (not in psych), good LOR, and great evals from 3rd years on all rotations. Decent volunteering (free clinic, crisis text line), good leadership (AMA, multiple school committees). Did a correctional medicine elective my 3rd year that is featured heavily in my personal statement. My school has matched psych well recently (14/14 last year, 69/73 past 5 years). I know psych is starting to get more competitive but has not gotten there just yet. Looking at the NRMP charting outcomes from 2022, 242 was the average from matched USMD students so I am right there. Going to apply to 80+ programs, including some reach schools have not been advised to dual apply. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

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[ClosetCentrist]

Unless things have significantly changed from when did the Match in 2021, 80+ schools is insane overkill with your stats.

 

[heartsink]

Unless things have significantly changed from when did the Match in 2021, 80+ schools is insane overkill with your stats.

Disagree. PGY-1 here; last year I had virtually identical stats to OP and applied broadly across 80 programs, got 8 interviews and fell to my 4th rank despite doing an away at my #1 and getting a great letter from them. A lot of my cohort had similar stories...

 

[lagunabeach26]

Unless things have significantly changed from when did the Match in 2021, 80+ schools is insane overkill with your stats.

Guidance from my school has been 60+, scared to not match so overdoing it a bit.

 

[baylafan]

Im an MS4 and based on what I've heard from my advisors, I agree with 80 programs, especially if you don't have aways. Don't think about the money. It's much better to have more interviews just for your own mental health and anxiety. You'll prob do fine in the match though. I'm in a similar position and my trusted and well-connected PD told me 60 and that 80 is too many. I'll probably do around 70 just to be more safe. Good luck!

 

[Merovinge]

Im an MS4 and based on what I've heard from my advisors, I agree with 80 programs, especially if you don't have aways. Don't think about the money. It's much better to have more interviews just for your own mental health and anxiety. You'll prob do fine in the match though. I'm in a similar position and my trusted and well-connected PD told me 60 and that 80 is too many. I'll probably do around 70 just to be more safe. Good luck!

Yup this is the arms race that has happened with applicants at all levels of higher ed. When people are allowed to apply to as many programs as they want, the only rational choice is to submit a boatload of applications. It's even worse for undergrad where programs get more "prestige" based on how low their acceptance rate is.

This is a very fixable program that the UK figured out by explicitly limiting you to a very small number of applications where you are truly interested at every place you apply to. Curious if we ever figure it out over on this side of the Atlantic.

 

[Stagg737]

Yup this is the arms race that has happened with applicants at all levels of higher ed. When people are allowed to apply to as many programs as they want, the only rational choice is to submit a boatload of applications. It's even worse for undergrad where programs get more "prestige" based on how low their acceptance rate is.

This is a very fixable program that the UK figured out by explicitly limiting you to a very small number of applications where you are truly interested at every place you apply to. Curious if we ever figure it out over on this side of the Atlantic.

ACGME has started doing this with the new "signaling". In psych there are no longer geographic signals and signals are sent to specific programs (I believe 15 this year). That said, signaling is pre-interview, so seems to be most beneficial when someone is signaling for the less desirable programs or programs less likely to be flooded by signaling applicants. Not sure how this will work out, but our current intern class at a mid-tier academic program seems quite strong, so maybe it will work well.

 

[Merovinge]

ACGME has started doing this with the new "signaling". In psych there are no longer geographic signals and signals are sent to specific programs (I believe 15 this year). That said, signaling is pre-interview, so seems to be most beneficial when someone is signaling for the less desirable programs or programs less likely to be flooded by signaling applicants. Not sure how this will work out, but our current intern class at a mid-tier academic program seems quite strong, so maybe it will work well.

Oh interesting, glad they are doing something, very interested to see how this actually impacts the application progress.

 

[mr-dookie]

ACGME has started doing this with the new "signaling". In psych there are no longer geographic signals and signals are sent to specific programs (I believe 15 this year). That said, signaling is pre-interview, so seems to be most beneficial when someone is signaling for the less desirable programs or programs less likely to be flooded by signaling applicants. Not sure how this will work out, but our current intern class at a mid-tier academic program seems quite strong, so maybe it will work well.

Psych gets 10 program signals this year in addition to the three geographic signals that every ERAS applicant can use.

 

[Stagg737]

Psych gets 10 program signals this year in addition to the three geographic signals that every ERAS applicant can use.

Interesting, my sub-i's said they did away with the geographic signaling, so not 100% sure either way. I just know that individual program signaling is now a thing as I've had several ask me if they should actually signal our program when they're doing audition rotations here.