couple quickies RE application

[Lex81]

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1. I haven't taken my photo yet. Can I still submit my application and then add my photo later in a day or two?

2. Still waiting on a couple LOR's. My adviser said she would look over my LOR's for me and pick the best 3. THEREFORE, can I still submit my application, then designate my LOR writers later on when they come in? I have 5 total writers, but can only designate 4. I would really like to wait till they are all in to pick the best ones for submission.

3. Can I add programs to the application in the future after its been submitted? (I've taken Step 2 but won't receive the score till mid october. Depending on how I do, I may want to add a couple more competitive programs.)
Thanks

 

[NotAProgDirector]

The answer to all three questions is yes

 

[TypicalTuesday]

How much will it affect me getting interview invites if two of my letters of rec. are not in yet? I had requested them both 4 and 8 weeks ago, and I sent email reminders to the writers this week, but the rest is out of my control. Do programs realize this and are they willing to still offer me interviews, or will many programs wait until my application is totally complete (everything else except mspe is in)?

I ask because it seems like everybody I talk to has 5-10 invites and I've only got one at this point. I thought I was fairly competitive, so I only applied to 14 programs, but with only one invite I'm considering adding ten more. What do you think?

 

[gutonc]

I ask because it seems like everybody I talk to has 5-10 invites and I've only got one at this point. I thought I was fairly competitive, so I only applied to 14 programs, but with only one invite I'm considering adding ten more. What do you think?

At this point in the game, the # of interviews isn't as important as the invite/rejection ratio. If you "only" have 1 interview and no rejections then you're doing fine. Certainly push folks to get your letters done but otherwise nothing much to do. If you have 1 IV and 5 rejections then you need to rethink your strategy.

 

[Law2Doc]

At this point in the game, the # of interviews isn't as important as the invite/rejection ratio. If you "only" have 1 interview and no rejections then you're doing fine. Certainly push folks to get your letters done but otherwise nothing much to do. If you have 1 IV and 5 rejections then you need to rethink your strategy.

Yeah, and it's not even about the ratio as much as what kind of programs you applied to. A lot of places won't start interviewing until the whole app is complete and so the first week of November is when they will start moving. If most of the places you applied are in that group, then you just have to sit tight, you won't hear much until then. On the other hand if you applied mostly to places that move early and give out invites without seeing anything besides the CV and USMLE score, and applied to a ton of them, and all your friends have already heard from them, then I suppose you could be a bit anxious. But I would wait a few weeks before you get more than mildly concerned.