USMLE transcript downloaded by programs

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NYCMS2

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So I want to hear what people think about my conspiracy theory...

I applied yesterday, and a couple of programs downloaded everything last night. Good.

This morning I checked, and another 3 or 4 programs have downloaded the USMLE tranny but nothing else.

My paranoia tells me this is so they can screen and rank applicants by Step scores. And that seems legit to do, but it is disconcerting.

Any other thoughts? Even if I am on to something, not sure it matters all that much.
 
NYCMS2 said:
So I want to hear what people think about my conspiracy theory...

I applied yesterday, and a couple of programs downloaded everything last night. Good.

This morning I checked, and another 3 or 4 programs have downloaded the USMLE tranny but nothing else.

My paranoia tells me this is so they can screen and rank applicants by Step scores. And that seems legit to do, but it is disconcerting.

Any other thoughts? Even if I am on to something, not sure it matters all that much.
Click to expand...

I think it's well-known that some programs do this. Especially the good ones who can only interview a small fraction of the applicants they get, how else are they going to filter it down to a reasonable level?
 
I was wondering the same thing and came to your same conclusion.

Alternate theory is that it is just much quicker to download the USMLE transcript than the other parts of the app.

I've noticed a lot of my programs downloaded my step score then 10-20 minutes later downloaded the rest of my application.
 
I was curious about this too, but I had a couple programs last night that downloaded the USMLE transcript, and then downloaded everything else like 2 hours later, and I'm willing to bet no one was sitting there reading over the dozens of applications yesterday afternoon. Most every program that has downloaded my application has a different time for the transcript (one was because they downloaded my application like 30 minutes after I submitted it and the transcript hadn't been posted yet, but the rest all downloaded it first).

I also have one program that downloaded everything except my USMLE transcript. I thought that was rather curious too.
 
David Hasselhof said:
I was wondering the same thing and came to your same conclusion.

Alternate theory is that it is just much quicker to download the USMLE transcript than the other parts of the app.

I've noticed a lot of my programs downloaded my step score then 10-20 minutes later downloaded the rest of my application.
Click to expand...

Same here. Although I took the COMLEX only, I noticed that all the programs I applied to (ACGME) downloaded my COMLEX before anything else... sometimes 15 minutes before the rest of the application or sometimes 2 hours. I don't know if programs are checking scores before bothering to download the rest of the application, or if it is just because it's easier to download those. Don't really care. But just an interesting observation.
 
There's a thread I found from 2011... everyone was having their USMLE downloaded 2 hours AFTER the rest of the app. aPD said it's random. I hope it's just a systems issue, but why did some download entire app at same time?
 
This is a really nice observation! I just checked and found out that most of the programs have downloaded my transcript first and an hour or so later downloaded the rest of the application. A few had only downloaded the transcript! But the funny thing is that the ones who had downloaded just the transcript all low-tier programs!
 
Had the same question as OP.

I was wondering if our forum gurus (aPD, Gutonc, WingedScapula, mcl, IMPD...) can shed some light?
 
Unless something changed this year, individual parts of the app can not be downloaded. The fact that only part has been downloaded means, at the time you checked, that's all that had been downloaded. ERAS is swamped right now, downloads are slow, etc.

You guys crack me up.
 
gutonc said:
Unless something changed this year, individual parts of the app can not be downloaded. The fact that only part has been downloaded means, at the time you checked, that's all that had been downloaded. ERAS is swamped right now, downloads are slow, etc.

You guys crack me up.
Click to expand...
Ha ha, you know what we med students are like don't you? 🙂
 
Fenster said:
Ha ha, you know what we med students are like don't you? 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the paranoia and neuroticism this year is at record freakin' levels. I predict massive numbers of open spots this year because half of you are going to rupture aneurysms before you submit your rank lists.
 
It seems that for all of the program downloads, the time stamp on the USMLE transcript is different from all of the other stuff that downloads at the same time. In most cases on mine, the transcript downloads first; but I do have a couple from late yesterday where the order was reversed.

I now doubt that it has anything to do with screening (unless a PD wants to chime in here). There is evidently something different about the download of the transcript that separates it from the rest of the ERAS stuff.

So I am discounting my conspiracy theory, for now...
 
gutonc said:
Unless something changed this year, individual parts of the app can not be downloaded. The fact that only part has been downloaded means, at the time you checked, that's all that had been downloaded. ERAS is swamped right now, downloads are slow, etc.

You guys crack me up.
Click to expand...

gutonc doesn't need corroboration, but if anyone has any doubt--he's absolutely correct. Programs link to the post office and download whatever is there. We can't screen at the point of download, and we can't tell which applicants are getting what documents until after the download is complete (at which time we can view New Application Activity). There is no conspiracy. 🙂

After the download, however, we can filter the applications that are visible to us by whatever criteria seems relevant regardless of the documents that may have downloaded.
 
gutonc said:
Unless something changed this year, individual parts of the app can not be downloaded. The fact that only part has been downloaded means, at the time you checked, that's all that had been downloaded. ERAS is swamped right now, downloads are slow, etc.

You guys crack me up.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I would expect someone to say if they were part of the conspiracy....😀
 
SleepyMeerkat said:
This is exactly what I would expect someone to say if they were part of the conspiracy....😀
Click to expand...

ah52232063.jpg
 
Duplicating mcl above (in case there was any question):

We cannot control what we get, nor what order we get it in. Especially when we start, there are 1000's of documents. If you interrupt the download mid stream (which happened to my PA -- she came in on sunday, started downloading things, then got tired of it all and stopped it), then it's possible to get one piece before the rest.

In any case, I can't see your USMLE scores until I have the CAF.

As mcl points out, there is no conspiracy needed here. We download apps, then we can screen by USMLE scores if we want. But we can't control the downloading of documents at all.
 
I'm seeing most programs download USMLE and then after 30min to 2 hours download the rest of the application. I assume that the USMLE download is someone running a filter on applicants then a person selects my stuff to download.

However, don't get too paranoid. One of my programs didn't download the rest of the app until 24 hours later. So sometimes it's just when they get around to it.

If you see your USMLE downloaded after the rest of your app, it's probably someone re-running the filter and the new timestamp overwrites the old one for USMLE.

Of the programs I've applied to, 85% have downloaded my stuff so far. So the programs act fast.
 
foodle said:
I'm seeing most programs download USMLE and then after 30min to 2 hours download the rest of the application. I assume that the USMLE download is someone running a filter on applicants then a person selects my stuff to download.

However, don't get too paranoid. One of my programs didn't download the rest of the app until 24 hours later. So sometimes it's just when they get around to it.

If you see your USMLE downloaded after the rest of your app, it's probably someone re-running the filter and the new timestamp overwrites the old one for USMLE.

Of the programs I've applied to, 85% have download my stuff so far. So the programs act fast.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing you were writing this while I put my post in place, but it doesn't work this way at all.
 
foodle said:
Of the programs I've applied to, 85% have downloaded my stuff so far. So the programs act fast.
Click to expand...

Yeah, all but a couple (out of 20) have downloaded my stuff. Based on reports from last year, I might hear something from a couple of programs by the end of the week.

Should be interesting.
 
aProgDirector said:
I'm guessing you were writing this while I put my post in place, but it doesn't work this way at all.
Click to expand...

Something must be making it show up weird then. I'm still looking at this for one of my programs:

File Available to Program
Photo Not yet retrieved
USMLE Transcript 09-16-2013 08:28 am
Comlex Transcript 09-16-2013 08:29 am
LoR - **********, MD / Emergency Medicine Not yet retrieved
Profile Not yet retrieved
MyERAS Application Not yet retrieved
Personal Statement - Personal statement Not yet retrieved
Transcript Not yet retrieved
Medical School Performance Evaluation (MSPE) Not yet retrieved

Maybe they interrupted the transmission like someone else said.
 
illegallysmooth said:
Something must be making it show up weird then. I'm still looking at this for one of my programs:

File Available to Program
Photo Not yet retrieved
USMLE Transcript 09-16-2013 08:28 am
Comlex Transcript 09-16-2013 08:29 am
LoR - **********, MD / Emergency Medicine Not yet retrieved
Profile Not yet retrieved
MyERAS Application Not yet retrieved
Personal Statement - Personal statement Not yet retrieved
Transcript Not yet retrieved
Medical School Performance Evaluation (MSPE) Not yet retrieved

Maybe they interrupted the transmission like someone else said.
Click to expand...

That's what most of ours says. My impression is that when they start downloading information, the transcripts are the first things to be transmitted (maybe because they were the last added to the application?), and then everything else follows. So the time between when your transcript is downloaded and when everything else is downloaded is dependent on how many applications that program has received (slash when they last downloaded the information).
 
Actually, if lots of them look like this, then "interrupted transmission" is unlikely the cause. I doubt a whole bunch of programs started downloading and cancelled -- especially since it's not that easy to cancel a download (there's no button, you need to kill the process yourself).

More likely (but completely fabricated by me) is the idea that those date/times are the date/time that the USMLE transcript was obtained from the USMLE to ERAS. Remember that once you apply / pay, that generates a request from ERAS to USMLE to send a transcript. So, perhaps that's the time that the transcript arrived to ERAS.

Anyway, it's nothing to worry about. This happens every year.
 
aProgDirector said:
More likely (but completely fabricated by me) is the idea that those date/times are the date/time that the USMLE transcript was obtained from the USMLE to ERAS. Remember that once you apply / pay, that generates a request from ERAS to USMLE to send a transcript. So, perhaps that's the time that the transcript arrived to ERAS.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's it either, because the timestamp is different for every program, and is almost always within 2-3 hours of them downloading the rest of the application. We also have a timestamp in a different place for when our USMLE transcript was first available to programs.

I've had three exceptions--one was because they downloaded prior to my transcript getting to ERAS, one was them downloading the transcript Sun night and the rest of the application the next morning--probably an interrupted transmission, and the final was one program downloading everything except my transcript, and getting the transcript several hours later.

Not that it particularly matters--all programs have downloaded my applications now, so I'm just waiting. It's just a curiosity for me.
 
I'm a little worried that for every program, the transcript is minutes to hours before the rest of the app, but for one program (at my home institution), the transcript was downloaded at 9 AM yesterday and the rest still hasn't been retrieved.
 
Girfaroo said:
I'm a little worried that for every program, the transcript is minutes to hours before the rest of the app, but for one program (at my home institution), the transcript was downloaded at 9 AM yesterday and the rest still hasn't been retrieved.
Click to expand...

It's like that for several of mine still, and in many other cases it was downloaded 1-2 days before the rest of them filled in. I wouldn't worry too much.
 
Will it make you all feel better if we tell you that is -is- a screening technique? Even if it isn't true?

You will know when programs have screened your application because ADTS will show the document status as "deleted by program due to failure to meet standards".

A week or so later you should get an envelope full of shredded paper from the program. This is a confirmation that they have rejected your application.

That isn't true as well, but feel free to circulate it amongst your classmates and the rest of the internet in general.
 
Doctor Bob said:
Will it make you all feel better if we tell you that is -is- a screening technique? Even if it isn't true?

You will know when programs have screened your application because ADTS will show the document status as "deleted by program due to failure to meet standards".

A week or so later you should get an envelope full of shredded paper from the program. This is a confirmation that they have rejected your application.

That isn't true as well, but feel free to circulate it amongst your classmates and the rest of the internet in general.
Click to expand...

You tell that to fellow applicants and a good number will get apoplectic.
 
Hi guys,

I'm and IMG and I was hoping someone could explain how the usmle transcript request works. I had ticked yes even before applying, but now that I have applied (2 hrs ago) I can see that programs have downloaded all my documents, except the transcript because it says "NOT UPLOADED TO POSTOFFICE".

Could someone explain how I should interpret that? Am I supposed to be doing something to ensure the transcript is uploaded?

Many thanks in advance!
 
I had this problem. I think on average its 1 day. However, I initially screwed up and wrote the wrong USMLE ID and had no SS (last 4 digit) written. Make sure you have these correct. Otherwise expect it uploaded to postoffice by tomorrow 4 so.
 
I have a program that took 3 days after the USMLE download to also download my other stuff so kind of makes me wonder about a screen at this place.
 
kkinase said:
I have a program that took 3 days after the USMLE download to also download my other stuff so kind of makes me wonder about a screen at this place.
Click to expand...

It has been confirmed by people involved in downloading the applications that they cannot selectively download the transcripts.
 
aProgDirector said:
Actually, if lots of them look like this, then "interrupted transmission" is unlikely the cause. I doubt a whole bunch of programs started downloading and cancelled -- especially since it's not that easy to cancel a download (there's no button, you need to kill the process yourself).

More likely (but completely fabricated by me) is the idea that those date/times are the date/time that the USMLE transcript was obtained from the USMLE to ERAS. Remember that once you apply / pay, that generates a request from ERAS to USMLE to send a transcript. So, perhaps that's the time that the transcript arrived to ERAS.

Anyway, it's nothing to worry about. This happens every year.
Click to expand...
Just want to confirm that I am completely wrong. I have no idea why I came up with this hairbrained idea.

My conclusion stands: This is meaningless, it's not a screen, and it will all work out in the end.

This reminds me of a thread from a few years ago where people thought that there was some trick whereby they could figure out whether they had matched or not based upon some error message displayed at the NRMP website when you clicked on a link. It was bogus, but it was amazing to see people go crazy. People who got the message that supposedly indicated "no match" completely panicked, despite no evidence it was true. On "no match" monday, it became clear it was all bogus.

The order your documents are downloaded by programs is meaningless. It is not under anyone's control.
 
Is it true that there is a problem with USMLE transcripts being released?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=14468368&postcount=42

From IMPD:

"Just an FYI...National Board of Medical Examiners has informed us (sideways) that USMLE transcripts will be available to ERAS on September 25th. Not sure why this is, but I am sitting on many invites until I see USMLEs. I will start invites on September 23rd to my no-brainers, but waiting on many others."
 
kristofer said:
Also, what's with this comment about usmle transcripts not being released until the 25th? If that's true I should have just submitted last week. Is there a delay between submitting and the transcript being available? I want to make sure that anybody who reviews my application sees all my usmle scores. My fear is that my application will be looked at with only step 1 and tossed (although I suppose it's possible I did worse on step 2). It's a gamble either way and I kind of feel like I've already made the wrong bet by not submitting yet. Advice?
Click to expand...

My transcript has been released and downloaded.

I know Sept 25th was a big day for students who took Step 2 CK between like July and August--that's when they expect to release the vast number of scores for that block. Maybe that's what the PD was talking about.
 
kristofer said:
I was expecting my step 2 score on wednesday but it didn't come. I was waiting to submit my application until I had my step 2 score in because my step 1 was low. I'm applying to a field where applications generally aren't downloaded until after oct. 1, but I am also applying to prelim programs and don't know how they feel about late comers. What do the PDs think? Submit my application now or wait a few days until Wednesday and submit it with step 2.
Also, what's with this comment about usmle transcripts not being released until the 25th? If that's true I should have just submitted last week. Is there a delay between submitting and the transcript being available? I want to make sure that anybody who reviews my application sees all my usmle scores. My fear is that my application will be looked at with only step 1 and tossed (although I suppose it's possible I did worse on step 2). It's a gamble either way and I kind of feel like I've already made the wrong bet by not submitting yet. Advice?
Click to expand...

Hedge your bets, apply to some now, some later.
 
Houmd said:
the usmle transcript can take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days to upload to the eras postoffice
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. The transcript is now uploaded!

My concern is that some programs have downloaded all my documents except my transcript (because it was not available yet). How will they judge me if they don't know my scores? Should I send them an email? Has anyone else had a similar situation?
 
kristofer said:
I did not think it was possible to do this. I thought it was an all or nothing kind of thing and once you submitted eras, you paid for all the programs and you can't keep paying for more later on. If so, I would have applied to the TYs and prelims on the 15th since the scores won't matter as much for those. Am I wrong? Can you apply to some programs, then some later?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can apply to some programs and add other programs later on.

Sir Gillies said:
My concern is that some programs have downloaded all my documents except my transcript (because it was not available yet). How will they judge me if they don't know my scores? Should I send them an email? Has anyone else had a similar situation?
Click to expand...

They'll get your transcript next time they download, which will probably be on Monday. Then your file will update in their system.
 
mvenus929 said:
They'll get your transcript next time they download, which will probably be on Monday. Then your file will update in their system.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your reply. So I haven't missed the boat on those programs? I thought once downloaded your application (complete or incomplete), that was it...

Thanks!
 
No, apps are updated all the time. If you are rejected before your USMLE is downloaded, it's because tere was already something in there that made them want to reject you. Most likely, they won't even review it until they download your scores. You're worrying about nothing.
 
mvenus929 said:
Yes, you can apply to some programs and add other programs later on.
Click to expand...

... and the price is the same whether you apply all at once, or spread them out. The first 10 (or so) are included with the initial cost. If you apply to only one, then go back, you can add the next 9 for free.
 
kristofer said:
I did not think it was possible to do this. I thought it was an all or nothing kind of thing and once you submitted eras, you paid for all the programs and you can't keep paying for more later on. If so, I would have applied to the TYs and prelims on the 15th since the scores won't matter as much for those. Am I wrong? Can you apply to some programs, then some later?
Click to expand...

Yes, you are wrong. You can apply as many programs whenever you want. ERAS also keeps track of how many you've applied to and charges you the appropriate amount (like if you applied to 13 on one day and then another 12 the next).
 
Ugh I still have half-downloaded apps. It's been 10 days since one program stopped.
 
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