Wanting to apply psych need advice / help

[Notquiteanxious]

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Longtime lurker looking for advice. I am going into 4th year and I have decided that I want to apply to psychiatry. I am slightly worried because I have two red flags: I remediated a class in my first semester, and then I took a personal LOA between 1st and second semester.

The LOA was not related to mental illness or health, just family stressors and probably a bit of imposter syndrome after my first semester. I didn't know if I could make it at the time.

Anyway I came back, and I have passed everything including level 1 (COMLEX) the first time and have had a strong upward trend since that time.
So my good points:
1. Top half of class rank wise (but my school doesn't report so :/ )
2. Previous psychiatric experience prior to med school. Worked in a psychiatric unit.
3. Passed Comlex on first attempt, but only with low 500's (<520)
4. Trying to schedule aways at less competitive programs.
5. Based on my latest practice exam/shelf I expect to score around 80 percentile on level 2, I am much stronger in the clinical medical realm.

What I need help with is deciding what to do to help my app. I feel like everyone is going to say Step 1, but I am not sure I can do that at this point as basic science is my weakness. I could do Step 2 fairly easily as this is my strength and I am just much better at the material based on qBanks.

What else can I do to help myself?

 

[ridethecliche]

Can you take step 2 without taking step 1?

I think your plan to do aways is a good one. Having letters from other programs will help you, but getting interviews at places where attendings already like you is never a bad thing. You'd have to make a really good impression though!

 

[Monocles]

Longtime lurker looking for advice. I am going into 4th year and I have decided that I want to apply to psychiatry. I am slightly worried because I have two red flags: I remediated a class in my first semester, and then I took a personal LOA between 1st and second semester.

This doesn't matter. I remediated TWO basic science courses and got plenty of decent interviews. The only time it came up was during one of the "brand name" programs.

PD: what happened here?
Me: I suck at biochem
PD: ... ah. Me too

and then we moved on.

 

[clausewitz2]

This doesn't matter. I remediated TWO basic science courses and got plenty of decent interviews. The only time it came up was during one of the "brand name" programs.

PD: what happened here?
Me: I suck at biochem
PD: ... ah. Me too

and then we moved on.

Similar story here. Had to remediate biochem over summer between first and second year. Only mentioned at one interview (Emory if memory serves)

Interviewer: "looks like in your first year you had trouble with...you know what, never mind."

 

[Notquiteanxious]

Can you take step 2 without taking step 1?

I think your plan to do aways is a good one. Having letters from other programs will help you, but getting interviews at places where attendings already like you is never a bad thing. You'd have to make a really good impression though!

According to what I have been told, you can take step 2 without step 1, but you cannot take step 3 unless you did all the prior steps. So assuming this is true, would it be helpful for me to take step 2 or would it not make much of a difference?

Also, thank you guys so much for the supportive responses, I feel a whole lot better. 🙂

 

[Mass Effect]

You should do three things:

1. Away rotations and knock their socks off. Be outstanding
and
2. Write an amazing personal statement
and
3. Learn how to interview well. Seriously. This is the most overlooked thing and yet, in psychiatry, the most important