LOR modified - Programs notified?

[thehealer]

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So long story short, a few weeks ago, I was still waiting for 2 LOR's to come in. Both had been finalized in ERAS. When the first one came in, the person at my Dean's Office sorta screwed me and accidentally uploaded that letter twice. (Once under the correct letter slot, and then again under the other slot of the letter that handn't yet come in). Without being able to see the content, I assigned both the letters to all of my programs. Well the next day, my Dean's Office notified me of the error, and told me that they can't delete the 2nd letter, but they can temporarily replace it with a PDF that basically says: "Uploaded by [home school] in error, correct letter pending."

Well now, the correct letter has finally come in, and my Dean's Office has uploaded it to the correct spot, and the ADTS shows that it was "updated" today.

Here's my question: Is it safe to assume that the PD's will be made aware that the letter has been updated (and thus actually consider my application)? Or, do you guys think I should send out courtesy emails to the PC's making them aware of the update? I ask only because...there is a lot of talk about PD's/PC's being notified when a new document/LOR is added, but in this situation, the document is the same, it has just been updated. Thanks in advance!

 

[rd31]

Very similar thing happened to me. Dean's office forgot to upload the last page of one of my letters, and later replaced it with the correct one. I called all the program coordinator's I could get in contact with, and emailed the rest. I suggest you do the same since many PCs said they were glad I informed them because, even though ERAS does automatically update, committee members may have already reviewed your application and wouldn't necessarily see your application again.

 

[thehealer]

Hmm

Very similar thing happened to me. Dean's office forgot to upload the last page of one of my letters, and later replaced it with the correct one. I called all the program coordinator's I could get in contact with, and emailed the rest. I suggest you do the same since many PCs said they were glad I informed them because, even though ERAS does automatically update, committee members may have already reviewed your application and wouldn't necessarily see your application again.

Hmm thanks RD. That does sound like a very similar situation. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people that applied to A LOT of programs (70+), and just the thought of calling/emailing that many PC's is exhausting. Anyone else want to chime in before I spent the next week emailing programs?

 

[dermal]

Hmm


Hmm thanks RD. That does sound like a very similar situation. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people that applied to A LOT of programs (70+), and just the thought of calling/emailing that many PC's is exhausting. Anyone else want to chime in before I spent the next week emailing programs?

You have to email them! They all have 400 to 600 applicants so you can't reasonably expect the coordinators to keep up with it.

 

[mcl]

I'm going to echo the advice to call/email the PCs, at least at the programs you feel you're most interested in/competitive for. At this stage, I'm not checking ERAS for new documents as much, and on the web-based ERAS we have to be intentional about looking for documents. A heads up regarding an error that affects your application and wasn't your fault would most likely be appreciated.

 

[rokshana]

Hmm


Hmm thanks RD. That does sound like a very similar situation. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people that applied to A LOT of programs (70+), and just the thought of calling/emailing that many PC's is exhausting. Anyone else want to chime in before I spent the next week emailing programs?

well…reapplying next year would be quite exhausting too...

 

[Frederica]

Programs are not notified when an application is updated. So, definitely let the PC and/or PD know.

 

[mcl]

Programs are not notified when an application is updated. So, definitely let the PC and/or PD know.

I guess it depends on what you mean by notified. ERAS doesn't send a message to me saying "Applicant X has updated his/her application." Programs using the old ERAS system are notified in the sense that every time you download from the post office you get a list of new and/or replacement documents arranged alphabetically by applicant name. Programs using the web-based ERAS are notified in the sense that there's a place on the dashboard for looking at application activity. I can adjust the time frame, and web ERAS reports by category on the dashboard. Click on the category, and you see which applicants have an update (today I see that in the last 24 hours, two people have added USMLE scores). It's much more clicking (and therefore much less efficient) because I have to return to the dashboard and re-run the activity search for each category (LoRs, transcripts, MSPEs, etc). I do this a lot during Sept and Oct, but taper off in November because my interview invite list is pretty set--but my specialty tends to interview early.

 

[Frederica]

I guess it depends on what you mean by notified. ERAS doesn't send a message to me saying "Applicant X has updated his/her application." Programs using the old ERAS system are notified in the sense that every time you download from the post office you get a list of new and/or replacement documents arranged alphabetically by applicant name. Programs using the web-based ERAS are notified in the sense that there's a place on the dashboard for looking at application activity. I can adjust the time frame, and web ERAS reports by category on the dashboard. Click on the category, and you see which applicants have an update (today I see that in the last 24 hours, two people have added USMLE scores). It's much more clicking (and therefore much less efficient) because I have to return to the dashboard and re-run the activity search for each category (LoRs, transcripts, MSPEs, etc). I do this a lot during Sept and Oct, but taper off in November because my interview invite list is pretty set--but my specialty tends to interview early.

I learned something new today! Thank you, mcl.

While I have already downloaded applications, I do it again the week prior to interviews to ensure I have everything. We are using the web-based ERAS and while it has been quite the learning experience, I do prefer it to the old way.

I read the OP question in terms of whether the program is notified through ERAS via email.