ERAS and sept 1st

[ally1]

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If you submit your application without a step 2 score and LORs september 1st is that a bad idea, since all you have to be judged on is step 1 and transcripts?

Some have said to just submit the application sept 1st, and not apply to any schools if you want to do this. 'they musta meant that it takes time for ERAS to process and upload the actual application, even though you don't apply to even one school.

So we all know some schools will screen you out just on step 1, so waiting for lors and step 2 is not helpful if you are tardy in applying....... but what do y'all feels about just submitting the app for processing vs. trying luck and applying early.

PS: the eras app itself doesn't look all that bad, am i missing something?

 

[IHeartNerds]

PS: the eras app itself doesn't look all that bad, am i missing something?

The pain of ERAS is directly proportional to how much stuff you did in medical school. If you're an MD-PhD who has done 500 clinical / basic science / etc research projects with numerous publications, it can be a bit of a headache to describe it all. But if you're the average IM applicant with one or two research experiences and no pubs/presentations, it is pretty easy, besides the personal statement.

 

[nbme123456]

Is it OK to apply to programs without ERAS receiving your medical school transcript? Or should I just submit and not apply? How do you even know that ERAS received the transcript? I have everything else in ERAS - step 1, CK, CS and LOR's. I just hope my app does not get screened out b/c lack of transcript.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There is no harm to applying to programs when you are missing a transcript, or don't have all of your LOR's, etc. Some programs will wait until your application is complete ("complete" is defined differently by each program) and in that case it will simply stay in a "pending" bin until all the required information is in. Some programs will review applications as they come in, and decide to invite for interviews or wait for more information.

The issue of step scores is complicated. If you think your Step 2 score will be much better than your Step 1 score, it MIGHT be a good idea to wait until your step 2 score is back, as some programs MIGHT look at both scores and consider your Step 2 as a better metric of your performance. But, interview slots are limited so if you wait to submit your application for too long, you might not get a spot at all.

 

[notdeadyet]

If you think your Step 2 score will be much better than your Step 1 score, it MIGHT be a good idea to wait until your step 2 score is back, as some programs MIGHT look at both scores and consider your Step 2 as a better metric of your performance.

Question about this: if a school doesn't have your Step 2, wouldn't a program hold on a borderline applicant and re-evaluate it for interview when the score came in? In which case wouldn't you be no better off waiting to apply then sending it in early?

 

[calespine]

Question about this: if a school doesn't have your Step 2, wouldn't a program hold on a borderline applicant and re-evaluate it for interview when the score came in? In which case wouldn't you be no better off waiting to apply then sending it in early?

To piggy-back b/c I'm planning on doing as you suggested- is the general consensus that waiting for October 6th for CK scores to be released is not significantly late? Programs probably won't receive updated usmle transcripts for a few days after the 6th. I think most of the programs I'm looking at start sending interviews the 2nd week of October or later. Thanks!

 

[ally1]

thnks for the replies y'all.

so can I just submit and certify the application but NOT choose a school to apply to. I thought this would get my application processed at least (but don't know if this is advantageous at all or even possible)

aprogdirector, what would you consider "late" in applying (ie risking competing for a minimum number of seats) i know that is general question but if you had to guestimate.

 

[gutonc]

thnks for the replies y'all.

so can I just submit and certify the application but NOT choose a school to apply to. I thought this would get my application processed at least (but don't know if this is advantageous at all or even possible)

aprogdirector, what would you consider "late" in applying (ie risking competing for a minimum number of seats) i know that is general question but if you had to guestimate.

"Processing and certifying" the application takes about 4.5 seconds. The time is in the LOR/Transcript/USMLE/MSPE transmission and the review of your app by programs.

You don't really gain anything by submitting without applying to any programs.

And I'm not aPD, but 11/15 is the last date I would consider as "early." Anything after that risks your app being ignored unless you're a rock star...in which case, why wasn't your app in on 9/1?

 

[cosine]

If I submit my application with only 2 lor's on september 1st, will I be able to add the 3rd one later on? Same goes for the transcript; lets say I send my application in without my transcript on sep1, will I be able to add a transcript later on?

 

[gutonc]

If I submit my application with only 2 lor's on september 1st, will I be able to add the 3rd one later on? Same goes for the transcript; lets say I send my application in without my transcript on sep1, will I be able to add a transcript later on?

Yes. The only thing you can't change is the CAF.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Yes. The only thing you can't change is the CAF.

What is the CAF?

 

[calespine]

What is the CAF?

common application form- what you see in myeras or the eras CV

 

[babel]

common application form- what you see in myeras or the eras CV

Though I am pretty sure I know the answer to this one, thought I'd just check - there are several programs I am applying to (peds) that say they want a CV. Now, some say explicitly that they want a "CV in ERAS", but others seem to list it separately, such as "Application requirements: ERAS application, USMLE transcript, CV, LOR's, MSPE" etc. There's no way these places want you to send them a separate CV, right? They all say that they only accept applications through ERAS, so why make their list of application requirements so confusing/contradictory?

And, I know, the only way to truly be certain is to email programs, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had thought this through and come to the same conclusion as I have.

 

[gutonc]

Though I am pretty sure I know the answer to this one, thought I'd just check - there are several programs I am applying to (peds) that say they want a CV. Now, some say explicitly that they want a "CV in ERAS", but others seem to list it separately, such as "Application requirements: ERAS application, USMLE transcript, CV, LOR's, MSPE" etc. There's no way these places want you to send them a separate CV, right? They all say that they only accept applications through ERAS, so why make their list of application requirements so confusing/contradictory?

And, I know, the only way to truly be certain is to email programs, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had thought this through and come to the same conclusion as I have.

The CAF/CV is what they want. Don't mail/e-mail a separate CV.

On a related note, it might be worth registering a throwaway email address to tell those programs that 1994 called and it wants it's website back. Sounds like they haven't updated the applicant requirements since the Match was all on paper.

 

[calespine]

"Processing and certifying" the application takes about 4.5 seconds. The time is in the LOR/Transcript/USMLE/MSPE transmission and the review of your app by programs.

You don't really gain anything by submitting without applying to any programs.

And I'm not aPD, but 11/15 is the last date I would consider as "early." Anything after that risks your app being ignored unless you're a rock star...in which case, why wasn't your app in on 9/1?

Thanks for the reply. Would most residents agree that as long as you submit your complete application before November, you will be on equal footing with those that apply earlier?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

thnks for the replies y'all.

so can I just submit and certify the application but NOT choose a school to apply to. I thought this would get my application processed at least (but don't know if this is advantageous at all or even possible)

aprogdirector, what would you consider "late" in applying (ie risking competing for a minimum number of seats) i know that is general question but if you had to guestimate.

Agreed with GutOnc that certifying without applying gets you nothing.

See below for other answer

To piggy-back b/c I'm planning on doing as you suggested- is the general consensus that waiting for October 6th for CK scores to be released is not significantly late? Programs probably won't receive updated usmle transcripts for a few days after the 6th. I think most of the programs I'm looking at start sending interviews the 2nd week of October or later. Thanks!

There is no right answer. In general, the more competitive the field/program, the later they tend to evaluate applicants. Some will not make interview decisions until after the MSPE's are released, so anytime up to Nov 1 would be fine. Other programs will start offering interviews sooner. Programs that take IMG's outside of the match might offer interviews very early, and even applying mid-late October MIGHT be late (I can't really say, other than rumor here on SDN)

In general, Oct 6 is pretty safe, still quite early.

Question about this: if a school doesn't have your Step 2, wouldn't a program hold on a borderline applicant and re-evaluate it for interview when the score came in? In which case wouldn't you be no better off waiting to apply then sending it in early?

Maybe. Then again, I get 1000's of applications. I tend to want to deal with each one just once if possible. I do have some that I put on hold and then go back to look at, but I try to minimize that.

 

[notdeadyet]

Maybe. Then again, I get 1000's of applications. I tend to want to deal with each one just once if possible. I do have some that I put on hold and then go back to look at, but I try to minimize that.

Makes sense. Thanks for the insight...

 

[Whats_up_doc]

Hello aprog:

I would like to know if it is imperative for couples match (IM and Surgery) to apply really early (say, sept 1st). I consider us above average candidates with 230 + step, AOA, research, etc. but we are thinking about applying around sept 20 because there are still some things that need to get done by that date.
Would it hurt us if we wait till that date? What other reccomendations do you have?

Thanks

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Hello aprog:

I would like to know if it is imperative for couples match (IM and Surgery) to apply really early (say, sept 1st). I consider us above average candidates with 230 + step, AOA, research, etc. but we are thinking about applying around sept 20 because there are still some things that need to get done by that date.
Would it hurt us if we wait till that date? What other reccomendations do you have?

Thanks

Sept 20 is likely to be fine for both IMG's and USMG's. In general in the couples match you'll be applying to more programs, since if only one of you gets an interview in a certain location, you might decline. Alternatively, you could focus all of your applications on a few major metropolitan areas and try to maximize the number of NYC, Boston, SF, etc interviews. Applying earlier might give you more interview day options, which could make travel easier -- it's a huge pain to interview Monday on the East coast, Wednesday on the West Coast, and then back on the East coast on Friday but I bet this happens to people frequently.

 

[J_med]

So if not couples matching and possibly applying to a competitive specialty (ENT), would submitting the application mid to late september make a significant difference in interview offers?