Will programs see an updated ERAS photo?

[MDapplicant578124]

TLDR I was an idiot and didn't do proper reading about ERAS photos beforehand so I submitted on in shirt and tie but no suit coat. Everything I'm reading online says this is going to hurt me so I'm about to spend beaucoup bucks to get an emergency retake done, but I want to make sure programs actually see it. Have they already all printed applications making a photo update useless?

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[NotAProgDirector]

I expect that many programs screen photos until after interview decisions are made. And I also expect that you're panicking about nothing. As long as your photo is professional, whether you're in a jacket or not probably does not matter.

 

[Anakinmemer]

I expect that many programs screen photos until after interview decisions are made. And I also expect that you're panicking about nothing. As long as your photo is professional, whether you're in a jacket or not probably does not matter.

Follow up on OP's question, what is the deal with the process of downloading applications if an applicant were to update something (photo, LOR, etc). There are threads on SDN (in 2016-2017) that say downloading doesn't occur anymore and the online ERAS system just updates your file for the program, but I called ERAS recently and they said programs will not see any update unless they manually redownload your application.

So my questions are: Is it true a program would have to manually redownload to receive an update such as my new LOR or OP's new photo, and if so, do programs often do this to check for updates or is it safe to assume it won't get seen?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There essentially is no more "downloading". Long ago, we would actually use the "ERAS Post Office" and would download data to a local computer. Then, we would review all of the applications essentially "off line". If programs did not resync to the post office, then new data would not be available. As there was an easy way to set up an auto download at night, this really shouldn't have been a big deal.

In any case, that all went away years ago and now it's a web app completely, So the only way ERAS is correct is if some programs take all of their data, print it all out, and then work from that printed copy. It's also possible that programs could download all the data and import it somewhere else and work from there, I guess also a possibility. But most programs will just work off of the web app, and then everything is instant.

 

[Tangerine123]

May I ask why a photo is required? I can't seem to find any use for it. It basically just enforces discrimination.

 

[wysdoc]

May I ask why a photo is required? I can't seem to find any use for it. It basically just enforces discrimination.

1. So you can't send a ringer to do your interview, and,
2. So your interviewers can remember you for when they discuss many applicants at committee

 

[MDMechEngr]

May I ask why a photo is required? I can't seem to find any use for it. It basically just enforces discrimination.

Good looks will add like 10 points to your Step 2.