MD co ‘20 Residency Panic Thread

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You are all panicking. Take a deep breath. The answer to almost all of the questions on this thread is "it won't matter at all"

Specifically:

@aProgDirector -- When filtering students by date submitted, do you also see what TIME they submitted their applications? For example, tomorrow morning at 9 AM EST is first opportunity to view applications, but how are the students who submit at, say, 8 PM EST viewed? Still in the same overall group of "September 15 applicants?"

No, only date

Good question. Piggybacking on this, do programs actually spend a weekend/Sunday downloading applications? I hope not. My comlex transcript is still shown as processing so I hope they download only Monday.

First, there's no such thing as "downloading". We can review applications online. Sure, PD's can create PDF's of applications and print them out, I guess. No one is doing that from home. And we will keep looking in ERAS for updates esp because we don't get MSPE's until Oct 1.

I too would like to know the answer to this ^^^^

Like, do I really need to submit this application at midnight tonight? For a few reasons, it might be better for me to submit tomorrow night - but is that gonna screw me over?

No, but there literally is no reason to wait until tomorrow. You can add letters at any time. You can update your USMLE / COMLEX at any time. The only thing you can't do once you certify is change your CV/core application, which should be done by now.

So. I don't have my third letter in yet, should be in by Monday or Tuesday. I was told by my school this isn't a huge deal, as long as it's in shortly after you submit and by the time of Dean's letter. I then read people freaking out on this site about not having three in at submission.
It got me thinking, I submitted to programs today, this means that my USMLE transcript probably won't become available until this week. So am I going to get filtered out because my USMLE transcript may not be available immediately at 9 am 9/15?
I can't imagine that this is the case, I know this is a competitive cut throat process. But how insane can this be, that a program would overlook a potential applicant because they don't have their scores to screen them or a third letter (which they probably wouldn't read until an interview anyways) by 9:01 am.
This all just seems so ridiculous.
My 2 cents I guess, which are worth nothing.

Lots of panic in this post. Letters in by the end of the week should be fine. We have 100's of apps to review, we can't see all of them on day 1. USMLE is usually very fast. You are being insane. Calm down. None of your worries in this post are true.

Having a meltdown...PS very rough draft, and only have 1 LOR total and it’s from another specialty (applying FM). No clue when the writers will finish/if they know the deadline.

Thoughts on sending a polite email updating that you submitted your app for ERAS which opens tomorrow (so the letter writers know how urgent it is?)

Remind LOR writers - yes, you should have done this 2 weeks ago, but what's done is done.

PS very rough draft - that's on you, not sure why you don't have it done by now. Hard to hold your LOR writers to a higher standard than yourself.

Any difference between submitting on 15th vs before 15th?

No

Guys, one of the letters of rec I labeled on ERAS was department chair but the letter writer is not department chair but instead a program director. I realized this now after the writer uploaded the letter, but is this a huge mistake? I believe he wrote his title on the actual letter. Should I still send this letter out?

Not an issue, don't lose any sleep over this. Happens all the time.

**urgent request / question***

LOR is still not released in ERAS application. All letter are already uploaded by writers. can the applicant submit today and then the LOR can be released later?

Yes, you can assign letters any time you want. You can switch letters if the letter has not been uploaded. Once an uploaded letter is assigned to a program, that's permanent.

WTF so the consensus is that people are not using white coat photos for ERAS photos? Why did I not know this until now? My school keeps telling us to use white coat photos. Does it really matter that much or do I have to have a photoshoot in my room tonight?

Professional pics are better than random pics IMHO. White coat pic is fine. There is some chance that your ERAS pic will become the pic used in your residency program's system, so be smart.

Is there like an actual recertification button on ERAS? One of the rec letters just came in, but I already applied to programs a couple of hours ago. I assigned the letter that just came in, but is there a "recertify" button or thing I have to do? I remember my Dean telling our class to always "recertify" whenever you upload any additional stuff or programs won't see it or something. Any thoughts?

No, you just assign new documents to programs. So if a new LOR is uploaded, you need to assign it to the programs you want it to go to. If you've assigned the letter and it's not uploaded yet, it will be sent to those programs immediately when available without you doing anything (I think?). You may be getting the NRMP ROL confused -- whenever you edit that, you need to recertify to replace your old list (but that's far in the future, my young padawan)

Oh great, my debit card keeps getting denied. It's a mastercard, what the hell is going on!?
Perhaps you're out of money?

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You are all panicking. Take a deep breath. The answer to almost all of the questions on this thread is "it won't matter at all"

Specifically:



No, only date



First, there's no such thing as "downloading". We can review applications online. Sure, PD's can create PDF's of applications and print them out, I guess. No one is doing that from home. And we will keep looking in ERAS for updates esp because we don't get MSPE's until Oct 1.



No, but there literally is no reason to wait until tomorrow. You can add letters at any time. You can update your USMLE / COMLEX at any time. The only thing you can't do once you certify is change your CV/core application, which should be done by now.



Lots of panic in this post. Letters in by the end of the week should be fine. We have 100's of apps to review, we can't see all of them on day 1. USMLE is usually very fast. You are being insane. Calm down. None of your worries in this post are true.



Remind LOR writers - yes, you should have done this 2 weeks ago, but what's done is done.

PS very rough draft - that's on you, not sure why you don't have it done by now. Hard to hold your LOR writers to a higher standard than yourself.



No



Not an issue, don't lose any sleep over this. Happens all the time.



Yes, you can assign letters any time you want. You can switch letters if the letter has not been uploaded. Once an uploaded letter is assigned to a program, that's permanent.



Professional pics are better than random pics IMHO. White coat pic is fine. There is some chance that your ERAS pic will become the pic used in your residency program's system, so be smart.



No, you just assign new documents to programs. So if a new LOR is uploaded, you need to assign it to the programs you want it to go to. If you've assigned the letter and it's not uploaded yet, it will be sent to those programs immediately when available without you doing anything (I think?). You may be getting the NRMP ROL confused -- whenever you edit that, you need to recertify to replace your old list (but that's far in the future, my young padawan)


Perhaps you're out of money?
We are not worthy. Thank you for your time, you should get a reward of some kind for this post lol
 
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Why does COMLEX submit boards ASAP, while USMLE still shows processing request, even though I submitted them at the same time?
 
@aProgDirector

Thank you for coming to our rescue!

I assume that program directors get tired reading PS after PS all day but, to assuage my anxiety, is my statement coming out to under a full page something that will raise eyebrows? I feel like it says what I want and I’ve had it reviewed by friends and physicians with great feedback. Thank you!
 
Good question. Piggybacking on this, do programs actually spend a weekend/Sunday downloading applications? I hope not. My comlex transcript is still shown as processing so I hope they download only Monday.
Is anyone else transcript still noted as processing?? 5 of my apps have been “processing” since yesterday around 4. I wonder how long it will take to be uploaded. Hopefully by tomorrow...
 
Why does COMLEX submit boards ASAP, while USMLE still shows processing request, even though I submitted them at the same time?
My COMLEX have been processing since yesterday also. Not sure why seems others are received right away.
 
I applied to 45 programs. For FM. I am freaking out.

I really hate that idk if i passed CS or not...
this is not fun
 
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61e.png

Live footage of PDs downloading applications on Sunday morning
 
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Why does COMLEX submit boards ASAP, while USMLE still shows processing request, even though I submitted them at the same time?
Wait.. your comlex uploaded asap? I'm having the opposite issue.. usmle boom done within an hour.. comlex has been processing for days...
 
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Oh great, my debit card keeps getting denied. It's a mastercard, what the hell is going on!? Anyone else with the same problem?

Edit: tried different browsers, 100 different things, nothing. Fortunately, my brother came through. It may have to do with the sum being so large my bank probably wants pre-auth. Applying to 75 programs FTL.

Double check the billing address. I've moved around so much from college to now and don't always remember to update the billing address. 90% of the time when my card gets denied, it's because the zip is wrong
 
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Double check the billing address. I've moved around so much from college to now and don't always remember to update the billing address. 90% of the time when my card gets denied, it's because the zip is wrong
Oh I know, I checked that too. Nothing worked.
 
Submitted. So happy this thread actually turned out to be helpful to ppl. Love u all, good luck, don’t be a jerk to other applicants, remember to breathe and be normal on your interviews. Dress professional, don’t use curse words and for the sake of God plz cancel your damn interviews early and not 1 day before the interview happens
 
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I am trying to open ERAS website but it is not working!

anyone with the same issue?
 
kndxsakyhgm31.jpg

I won't be applying to residency for at least 3 years (assuming I make it that far lol) but best of luck to everyone applying!
 
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I do have a department chair letter though, and labeled correctly. So basically I have 2 labeled department chairs but one of them is just from a preceptor that is a program director
Gotcha, I would think it would be clear from signatures. You didn’t misrepresent that you had a chair’s letter so the only thing I can think is if some program required a clerkship letter specifically, you may need to reach out to them and let them know that you have one, just mislabeled?

My CC keeps getting denied too, tried everything as well including calling my bank. I guess I'll be late and figure this out in the morning.
call your bank now if open. For me it was such a large charge that they texted me and wanted to know if it was legit. Maybe it’s the same
 
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Gotcha, I would think it would be clear from S

call your bank now if open. For me it was such a large charge that they texted me and wanted to know if it was legit. Maybe it’s the same

Good call, my bank freezes my card without telling me frequently. This went through fine thankfully. “$5 iTunes purchase? Shut it down!!!!! Don’t notify her though, she can just figure it out when she’s stranded and needs gas later. $800 to ERAS? Sounds about right.”
 
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Good call, my bank freezes my card without telling me frequently. This went through fine thankfully. “$5 iTunes purchase? Shut it down!!!!! Don’t notify her though, she can just figure it out when she’s stranded and needs gas later. $800 to ERAS? Sounds about right.”
Haha, My bank shut me down for paying my water and sewer bill once. I need to see this algorithm. It ain’t right, whatever it is.
 
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I applied to 45 programs. For FM. I am freaking out.

I really hate that idk if i passed CS or not...
this is not fun

Yes, if I could do this over again I would have knocked CS out much earlier. It’s the one thing hanging out there and it’s very scary.
 
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Applications been available to PDs for 45 minutes.
"NO INTERVIEWZ YET!!! HOW CAN I MAKE APP STRONGER FOR NEXT YEAR?!!?!!?!"
 
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This thread brings me both comfort and waves of N/V/D.
 
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More panic. Still convinced im doomed and not gonna match
 
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Applications been available to PDs for 45 minutes.
"NO INTERVIEWZ YET!!! HOW CAN I MAKE APP STRONGER FOR NEXT YEAR?!!?!!?!"
I HAVE A RED FLAG AND I WAS SO HOPING FOR EARLY INTERVIEWS. WHATS MY NEXT STEP? SHOULD I ADD 100 MORE PROGRAMS??????????
 
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I HAVE A RED FLAG AND I WAS SO HOPING FOR EARLY INTERVIEWS. WHATS MY NEXT STEP? SHOULD I ADD 100 MORE PROGRAMS??????????

I added 20 more programs than my advisor told me i should. Still feel like I should add more and today is the last day i probably can...

Im applying FM so people probably think im nuts
 
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I added 20 more programs than my advisor told me i should. Still feel like I should add more and today is the last day i probably can...

Im applying FM so people probably think im nuts
I did 70 more than my advisor suggested. I don’t trust advisors.
 
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You guys see this?
 
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Guys, I have a really neurotic question that can use calming. I registered for NRMP and updated my personal info on ERAS with the ID#. Now MYEras app says that it was made available to programs at the time I updated, as opposed to 9:00 am, for when I submitted days ago. Is this something to be concerned over?
 
Guys, I have a really neurotic question that can use calming. I registered for NRMP and updated my personal info on ERAS with the ID#. Now MYEras app says that it was made available to programs at the time I updated, as opposed to 9:00 am, for when I submitted days ago. Is this something to be concerned over?

No one's app was made available before today. If you submitted early, it sat in a cyber filing cabinet until today when ERAS was supposed to go live. With the site down and being actively resolved, PD/APDs cannot view apps until tomorrow at the earliest anyway.
 
Given that they can’t bother arranging things in chronological order, I am not the least bit surprised by any technical issues they have.
I think we all saw this coming from several miles away
 
Peds interviews have been sent out (friend just got one) so they must have our apps
 
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Submitted yesterday. Glad to finally have 3 hard years of work officially in. Good luck to everyone!
 
Got my first interview!
 
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Goodluck!! see you were worrying about not matching and youre one of the first to get interviews !! you got this

Still worried because ive been trying to log into ERAS for like a half an hour.. still not loading
 
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