Has anyone NOT submitted their ERAS?

[northandponce]

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Yes, my LOR requests were sent out June 1st.

Yes, I finished my Step 2 in-time for my scores to be back by Sept 1st.

Yes, I have a really polished "rough" draft of my PS and CV

But somehow... I just can't apply. Maybe i'm making excuses, maybe i'm indecisive.

I'm having trouble with some LOR's- as in, they haven't been done yet...or they were dictated and they somehow got "lost" with electronic dictation.

Am i the only one who has yet to click submit?

 

[docdaname]

i just submitted last night. But just so you know, the letters dont have to actually be in before you can submit. The programs will get them as they come in. good luck.

 

[Alteran]

Dude, just submit already. Get it over and done with, you'll feel like you just got a load off your chest. I also hope that you're not applying for anything competitive because you may be SOL at this point.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It's still early, but I agree with prior posters that you don't need to wait for your LOR's. Don't delay beyond early-mid Oct, and not beyond Nov 1st no matter what.

 

[Law2Doc]

I also hope that you're not applying for anything competitive because you may be SOL at this point.

Actually, it's more often the competitive stuff that's going to wait for the dean's letters to make any real decisions, so he's not late for those. while a small number of competitive places are starting to move, the bulk of the interviews being handed out thus far (based on this board and word of mouth) are for the less competitive things.

I would just submit already. The LORs can follow later, even into October. Many places will invite you for interviews LORs unseen.

 

[northandponce]

thanks everyone-

i actually had no clue that i could submit minus the LOR's.

That's what happens when you have to navigate this entire process on your own. (no one I know has gone thru it, and if so- they're so competitive they give no advice...and my carib admin, forget about it)

thanks again, I already feel better

Oh, and by the way- i'm a girl- why the assumption otherwise?

 

[dragonfly99]

Yes, just submit your stuff and then wait for the LOR's. I applied IM about 5 years ago and I'm pretty sure I didn't submit the application until October, and everything was fine. You DO need to start chasing down the folks who haven't turned in the LOR's though. You need at least 2 plus your dean's letter (or is it 3 plus your dean's letter?). What do you mean by "lost in the computer system"? If ERAS has the LOR's but haven't uploaded them to the ERAS postoffice, don't panic...if they are busy it can take 2 weeks sometimes. You need to find out what the status is of your LOR's...i.e. were they never sent to the ERAS postoffice, the ERAS postoffice acknowledges having them but hasn't uploaded them, or they were sent (supposedly) but ERAS isn't acknowledging they even received them.

 

[Rugby MD]

My deans office and the EM dept at my school say Oct 1 is a good soft deadline, oct 15th is firm. I have step 2 on thursday so gonna work on polishing the CV and personal statement after that. Then I have to pick an other 5 or so schools to round out to 20 and I am good to go.
good luck all.
rugby

 

[hippiedoc13]

My deans office and the EM dept at my school say Oct 1 is a good soft deadline, oct 15th is firm. I have step 2 on thursday so gonna work on polishing the CV and personal statement after that. Then I have to pick an other 5 or so schools to round out to 20 and I am good to go.
good luck all.
rugby

You don't have to have all of your programs selected before you submit your application. You can always go back into ERAS and add more programs (up to the deadline for those programs, of course). If you have 15 or so programs that you KNOW you want to apply to, and your application is otherwise complete, there's no benefit to holding-off on submitting your app to those 15 while you figure out which programs to add to your list.

 

[Law2Doc]

(or is it 3 plus your dean's letter?).

It's 3 plus dean's letter.

 

[northandponce]

If the Dean's letters are due Nov 1st--- does that mean that our uni's can continue to update the section that lists our grades in electives?

Mine has been done since July- so my GPA isn't stellar -because since then I have: an honors in FP, honors in neuro elective and a High Pass in peds.

 

[Law2Doc]

If the Dean's letters are due Nov 1st--- does that mean that our uni's can continue to update the section that lists our grades in electives?

Yep.

 

[Acherona]

It's 3 plus dean's letter.

really? But my dean's letter is basically a cut and paste from my transcript. it's not a recommendation letter.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

really? But my dean's letter is basically a cut and paste from my transcript. it's not a recommendation letter.

Most MSPE's are a standardized description of your performance in medical school. It's not a recommendation per se, as the "dean" (or whomever writes the letter -- there's usually a committee) probably didn't work with you directly. But it's still one of the most important documents in your application, as it (usually) clearly defines how you did compared with others at your school.

 

[DarthNeurology]

Most MSPE's are a standardized description of your performance in medical school. It's not a recommendation per se, as the "dean" (or whomever writes the letter -- there's usually a committee) probably didn't work with you directly. But it's still one of the most important documents in your application, as it (usually) clearly defines how you did compared with others at your school.

MSPE's are standardized within a medical school to a certain extent, but obviously as APD has pointed out, some schools edit for content and some school just paste and copy from clerkship evaluations. The begs to question how standardized the MSPE is between medical schools.

I would disagree that the MSPE is the one of the most important documents per se (at least for lower to middle tier IM, Peds, Family . . . ) as when I applied for residency I got a ton of interviews, most before November 1st, before when the MSPE is supposed to be released.

I surmise that if you have a good to excellent grades the MSPE would add little to your transcript. If anything considering how sloppy clerkship evals are, i.e. vague comments that students and deans have trouble deciphering, how much help could such comments be on an MSPE? Anyway, my MSPE was spotless, so some schools would rather NOT slam their students, which may or may not be fair to others and might make your MSPE worthless, but at least it is not a strike against you.

I would argue that the most important document would be your USMLE transcripts, i.e. step scores as if you can do well on these this gives you a leg up on getting interviews and all the way through the process. Followed by your medical school transcripts, and then perhaps LORs specific to your field.

Maybe APD runs a top-tier IM program where maybe they would look at MSPE's to help distinguish between excellent and super excellent applicants though . . .

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Maybe APD runs a top-tier IM program where maybe they would look at MSPE's to help distinguish between excellent and super excellent applicants though . . .

😀 👍

I oftne invite people based on their transcript / USMLE's, MSPE's are used to help with ranking. But I agree that I can often predict what's in the MSPE by what's on the transcript / USMLE.

 

[northandponce]

it's waaaaaay past my bed-time, but i'm determined to click "sumbit" tonight.

so- help! Once I submit my CAF for ERAS
1) Do I have to submit my personal statement at the same time?
2) Any changes permitted?
3) Will it be available for later viewing (prep before interviews, etc)

I did download the PD, the "guide to ERAS" but it caused my mozilla to crash- and now the file is stuck.

 

[Law2Doc]

it's waaaaaay past my bed-time, but i'm determined to click "sumbit" tonight.

so- help! Once I submit my CAF for ERAS
1) Do I have to submit my personal statement at the same time?
2) Any changes permitted?
3) Will it be available for later viewing (prep before interviews, etc)

I did download the PD, the "guide to ERAS" but it caused my mozilla to crash- and now the file is stuck.

These questions have all been answered on this board over the past couple of weeks. While you don't have to submit your PS at the same time, you ought to. It is something under your control and so it looks bad to still be sitting on it by the time you submit. Things like LORs coming later are no big deal, because these aren't under your control. Changes to CAF are pretty limited after submission, so get that perfect before you submit. And yes, you can view stuff later.