SOAP 2019 Thread

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theosteoblasts

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Sitting terrified right now for SOAP.

Feels like theres no chance I have a job come June :(
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Best of luck everyone, keep your cool (as best you can) and you should come out OK.

I went through this 4 years ago, it worked out truly to my benefit in the end.

Let me know if I can answer any questions. PM me if needed.
 
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Hi everyone,

I was not expecting to SOAP this round, but it looks like I have to. I will be applying to other specialties as well, and want to know what to do with my letters of recommendation, since they are all specific to my specialty. Should I just try to recontact all my letter writers as soon as possible to get letters of recommendation for other specialties.
 
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ERAS is being so slow for me. I can barely apply to 1 program without taking many minutes.

Just great
 
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CalmAndCollected said:
Hi everyone,

I was not expecting to SOAP this round, but it looks like I have to. I will be applying to other specialties as well, and want to know what to do with my letters of recommendation, since they are all specific to my specialty. Should I just try to recontact all my letter writers as soon as possible to get letters of recommendation for other specialties.
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If possible yes, but programs understand it's likely not possible to get updated letters on such short turn around. So submit what you have ASAP and hope for the best.
 
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CalmAndCollected said:
Hi everyone,

I was not expecting to SOAP this round, but it looks like I have to. I will be applying to other specialties as well, and want to know what to do with my letters of recommendation, since they are all specific to my specialty. Should I just try to recontact all my letter writers as soon as possible to get letters of recommendation for other specialties.
Click to expand...

I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s got to be really tough but it still works out for plenty of people in the end! As far as letter writers, your first step should be to contact your school/dean’s office ASAP-like right now. Our school sent out an email last week that said if people have to SOAP, they’ll already know who we are come Monday morning and they’ll be expecting a phone call to start the process. Your school should be able to provide a lot of assistance and guidance about the best way to go about this and who to reach out to for urgent letters. That’s what they do and they’re way more qualified to help you through this than most people on this forum. I suggest you call or go up to your school now to get the process started. Good luck my friend!
 
HuskyBabe said:
I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s got to be really tough but it still works out for plenty of people in the end! As far as letter writers, your first step should be to contact your school/dean’s office ASAP-like right now. Our school sent out an email last week that said if people have to SOAP, they’ll already know who we are come Monday morning and they’ll be expecting a phone call to start the process. Your school should be able to provide a lot of assistance and guidance about the best way to go about this and who to reach out to for urgent letters. That’s what they do and they’re way more qualified to help you through this than most people on this forum. I suggest you call or go up to your school now to get the process started. Good luck my friend!
Click to expand...

I'm an IMG, so that isn't exactly something I can access, but thank you for your support.
 
HuskyBabe said:
I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s got to be really tough but it still works out for plenty of people in the end! As far as letter writers, your first step should be to contact your school/dean’s office ASAP-like right now. Our school sent out an email last week that said if people have to SOAP, they’ll already know who we are come Monday morning and they’ll be expecting a phone call to start the process. Your school should be able to provide a lot of assistance and guidance about the best way to go about this and who to reach out to for urgent letters. That’s what they do and they’re way more qualified to help you through this than most people on this forum. I suggest you call or go up to your school now to get the process started. Good luck my friend!
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To be clear, this is 100% true for AMGs--you need to be working closely with your school to maximize your chances of matching.

For IMGs who are unfortunately flying solo, honestly I think time is of the essence, and while it's not ideal to send a letter that says "internal medicine" when you're applying for FM, it's just not realistic to get new letters in a timely fashion.
 
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Has anyone been able to submit an application yet? I just keep getting a spinning logo...
 
Now I'm getting the error "Application Service is currently not available. Please try again or contact MYERAS Help desk for further support."

3PM is just around the corner...
 
I just want to go ahead and type this for you guys who are feeling bad and just don't know what to do. I was in your same situation last match and I would dare say worse than most of you, the Sunday before we were to find out if we matched or not my fiancee called the wedding off, that following Tuesday my boss (I was working research) informed me funding had dried up and I would be out of the job by April. That afternoon I got home and was informed that we had to move out of the house I was renting. Fortunately enough, or so I thought I got 1 phone call for SOAP, which the program decided I wasn't the best fit (can't blame them in all honesty). Needless to say, my life was a wreck. So I just started applying to research jobs everywhere and I got a job offer and just basically worked and worked and worked. And today I MATCHED, don't know where but I only need this one opportunity to get to where I want to be.
Anyway, not to make this any longer. Go through the motions, get SOAP sorted out. If you don't match, to hell with it. Build up your resume, make contacts and just plain kick everyone that stands in your way.
 
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doctorKAT said:
They extended it to 430pm
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Yeah, I saw that, but the problem isn't that the system is just slow right now. We're getting to a point and not able to get past it. We need a fix!
 
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I can’t submit any of my applications - I’m stuck on the payment page
 
TinyPanda said:
I can’t submit any of my applications - I’m stuck on the payment page
Click to expand...

I am having the same problem
ERAS is not taking any calls right now so I emailed them about the issue, not sure how many people are working on solving problems right now.
I am getting scarred I will miss the applications due to the problem in the system.
 
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use a different browser! it worked for me after i switched to sarfari
 
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I can't submit any applications.
 
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this might sound silly, but restart your computer?
 
This is the response I got from ERAS

"Thank you for your email. MyERAS is currently experiencing higher than expected volume, thus resulting in system slowness. Our IT teach team is aware of the situation and is working on rectifying the issue.

Please try switching browsers (Firefox or Chrome work best) or clearing your cookies and cache to see if that helps.

To ensure you have adequate time to prepare your applications, we will delay the program opening for ERAS from 3pm ET to 4:30 pm ET. If any additional updates become available we'll let you know. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused."
 
Does anyone know how competitive prelim surgery positions are? Are they more or less competitive that preliminary IM? If I purse an advanced position, is any prelim position good, or does it need to match the route? So, do I need to do an IM prelim to get into neuro, or is a surgery prelim good as well?
 
Was finally able to get through and apply - thank god.
 
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I ran into a similar problem at 12 pm ET but I clicked on the check box that had all of the saved programs and check marked each program individually as well and it showed up on the payments page successfully.
 
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CalmAndCollected said:
Does anyone know how competitive prelim surgery positions are? Are they more or less competitive that preliminary IM? If I purse an advanced position, is any prelim position good, or does it need to match the route? So, do I need to do an IM prelim to get into neuro, or is a surgery prelim good as well?
Click to expand...

For neuro, you must do an IM prelim.

For Radiology or Derm, you can do either an IM or GS prelim, or a TY.

In general, IM prelims are more competitive than GS prelims.
 
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Guys good luck in the soap. It is a terrible process that I’ve had a few friends go through. I highly recommend you do not go full blast in the first round probably do 35 at the most and then have a few applications left for the third and final round. My friend was told to do 35 five and five from their school seems like a solid idea in my opinion. Good luck
 
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Anyone who didn't match, do not be discouraged! My husband did not match last year, and also did not find a program in SOAP. But he fortunately found a program 2 week after match. There are still a lot of positions and programs that will open up over the next few months before June. Be positive and don't give up! You have to be diligent and keep an active look out for programs. He would check eras EVERY SINGLE DAY for new programs that showed up and also signed up for and would check freida, needaresident.com, residencyswap and whatever else he could find. He eventually found an FM position that worked out and started in June just like he wanted. DO NOT GIVE UP! You made it this far, keep pushing forward.
 
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Siqoraaa said:
Anyone who didn't match, do not be discouraged! My husband did not match last year, and also did not find a program in SOAP. But he fortunately found a program 2 week after match. There are still a lot of positions and programs that will open up over the next few months before June. Be positive and don't give up! You have to be diligent and keep an active look out for programs. He would check eras EVERY SINGLE DAY for new programs that showed up and also signed up for and would check freida, needaresident.com, residencyswap and whatever else he could find. He eventually found an FM position that worked out and started in June just like he wanted. DO NOT GIVE UP! You made it this far, keep pushing forward.
Click to expand...

thank you for coming here and spreading the positivity. I was wondering if your husband had to pay for those websites?
 
looks like eras is closing till tomorrow - time to relax a little in preparation for when programs will actually be able to see our applications
 
has this ever happened before? This definitely doesn't seem normal
 
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doc0610 said:
thank you for coming here and spreading the positivity. I was wondering if your husband had to pay for those websites?
Click to expand...
He says using the free options like checking eras and freidas regularly should suffice, especially if money is tight. There were a few openings he found from there. The program where he currently is just happened to be from one of the paid sites, but I am sure that can be different case to case. After spending so much money on eras and interviews, the last thing you want to do is spend more money!
 
SLC said:
Best of luck everyone, keep your cool (as best you can) and you should come out OK.

I went through this 4 years ago, it worked out truly to my benefit in the end.

Let me know if I can answer any questions. PM me if needed.
Click to expand...

Same. I went through this 2 years ago and now I'm happy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who try hard.
 
DrMeowMeow said:
It must have shut down because instead of a separate DO scramble and separate MD SOAP, both are combined now.
Click to expand...

The AOA scramble was in February. Some of the programs kept spots for the SOAP but I doubt extra programs cost the site that much bandwidth
 
Hey everyone, SOAPing this year. Filled out all apps before the shut down so trying to wait patiently for tomorrow morning. That said, I was wondering if anyone knew how frequently it was for programs to request Skype/Facetime interviews during this process? I have a mandatory event at school that I need to be at in order to graduate. I Informed the school that I may step out to take calls during the SOAP, however, I can't be in dress clothes as it is an OMM event. Thanks!
 
Siqoraaa said:
Anyone who didn't match, do not be discouraged! My husband did not match last year, and also did not find a program in SOAP. But he fortunately found a program 2 week after match. There are still a lot of positions and programs that will open up over the next few months before June. Be positive and don't give up! You have to be diligent and keep an active look out for programs. He would check eras EVERY SINGLE DAY for new programs that showed up and also signed up for and would check freida, needaresident.com, residencyswap and whatever else he could find. He eventually found an FM position that worked out and started in June just like he wanted. DO NOT GIVE UP! You made it this far, keep pushing forward.
Click to expand...

What's a good way to check ERAS for NEW programs? Don't you kind of have to know what you are looking for to find it on ERAS? Is there a sort by new button?
 
ERAS should be ashamed of themselves for this complete disaster of SOAP this year
 
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A little bit of an odd situation I found myself in hoping someone could shed some light/opinions on regarding the SOAP rules. Lets say a program contacted you about position openings in the SOAP right now via email after you contacted them about open positions in the AOA match? Would it be appropriate to reach back out to them even though this whole system is on hold or would that be violating the SOAP agreement?
 
Solving4gravity said:
Hey everyone, SOAPing this year. Filled out all apps before the shut down so trying to wait patiently for tomorrow morning. That said, I was wondering if anyone knew how frequently it was for programs to request Skype/Facetime interviews during this process? I have a mandatory event at school that I need to be at in order to graduate. I Informed the school that I may step out to take calls during the SOAP, however, I can't be in dress clothes as it is an OMM event. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your school should absolutely excuse you from this event. If they don't that's messed up.

But don't worry about Skyping in OMM garb, just explain why to the interviewer and they'll understand. They know this is an inconvenience and stressful thing for everyone.
 
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