How are PDs notified about retransmission step scores

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Boef

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Hi all,

have a question about how PDs are able to see the retransmission of your step scores: if my step 2 score becomes available after sept 15th, and a program director has already downloaded my application, will they get a notification of some sort that my score is now available, or won't they notice it until they view my application again and look for it?

I am a little worried about this, as I am hesitant to automatically retransmit my step 2 score as I felt horrible about it after the exam. However my step 1 score wasn't incredible, and if my step 2 CK does turn out to be higher than my step 1 I feel it can boost my application.

Hope anyone can help me out! Thanks a lot and good luck with the application!
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Boef said:
Hi all,

have a question about how PDs are able to see the retransmission of your step scores: if my step 2 score becomes available after sept 15th, and a program director has already downloaded my application, will they get a notification of some sort that my score is now available, or won't they notice it until they view my application again and look for it?

I am a little worried about this, as I am hesitant to automatically retransmit my step 2 score as I felt horrible about it after the exam. However my step 1 score wasn't incredible, and if my step 2 CK does turn out to be higher than my step 1 I feel it can boost my application.

Hope anyone can help me out! Thanks a lot and good luck with the application!
Click to expand...

After every download from the ERAS Post Office, I can access an application activity report that lists every document that was part of the download arranged alphabetically by applicant. For USMLE scores there are two failsafes: the retransmission is included in the new document list once it's downloaded, and the score report in the Examination section will read NEW until I actually view the document. Bottom line, this isn't something to worry about.
 
thank you. however, I am worried that due to my mediocre step 1 score I will land on the "no" pile before PDs see my step 2CK score, which will be released 1st week of Oct, but maybe some days after Oct 1st. I figured that most PDs will start looking at applications around Oct 1st as the MSPEs are released by that date, and am afraid that if my step 2 score isn't included at that time I will be excluded from interviews before the PDs will be able to see my step 2 score a few days later... Or does it not work like this?
 
Boef said:
thank you. however, I am worried that due to my mediocre step 1 score I will land on the "no" pile before PDs see my step 2CK score, which will be released 1st week of Oct, but maybe some days after Oct 1st. I figured that most PDs will start looking at applications around Oct 1st as the MSPEs are released by that date, and am afraid that if my step 2 score isn't included at that time I will be excluded from interviews before the PDs will be able to see my step 2 score a few days later... Or does it not work like this?
Click to expand...

It works that way in some programs, and there isn't much you can do about where programs set their interview parameters. If the Step 1 score is the primary factor a PD uses to determine whether or not to grant an interview, then a low score will make it difficult for your application to get a favorable review. However, I'm betting that with the MSPEs coming so much earlier that more programs will take the time to consider more factors than test scores. Of course, that means that you have to depend on more than a strong Step 2 score for an invitation. The step 2 score will definitely get downloaded and programs will know they have it. That's the only guarantee I can make.

For my program, if you were on the bubble because of a low Step 1 score but all other factors were positive and I could tell that you had already taken Step 2 with results expected soon, I'd delay the review of your application until the score came in.
 
thank you so much. will you automatically know that I have already taken step 2 (which I have) or do I need to do anything for PDs to see that?
 
Boef said:
thank you so much. will you automatically know that I have already taken step 2 (which I have) or do I need to do anything for PDs to see that?
Click to expand...

I believe there is a space in the ERAS application to indicate your exam history. Most applicants include their recent or expected Step 2 date.
 
mcl said:
I believe there is a space in the ERAS application to indicate your exam history. Most applicants include their recent or expected Step 2 date.
Click to expand...
One of the changes in this year's ERAS is that applicants no longer list their testing dates. I'm not quite sure what this means. ERAS's user guide says that now the information comes automatically from the USMLE/COMLEX transcript. I'm guessing this means that you'll no longer be able to list that you have an "upcoming" score. I could totally be wrong. We'll see on Sept 15th.
 
Now that we're in mid october, can you enlighten us with updates regarding whether the information of an applicant merely having TAKEN the step 2 ck exam before submission of ERAS if automatic retransmission was not done, still shows up to the program directors?

Thanks!:D
 
Can you comment on the relavence of step two, if a program has already offered you an interview based on your cv and step 1. Obviously programs will have it before they rank, but can it only help? Or can it hurt?
 
I'm curious to how the scores appear to PDs. Is it just the 3 digit?
 
gutonc said:
That's all they care about. But I know that the USMLE transcripts I've seen this year still have that ******* useless 2 digit score too.
Click to expand...

I hope that other attendings recognize the uselessness of the 2-digit score too. I've seen a lot of program websites that require a USMLE score of "80" or "90"... which is annoying, because I got a 227 and 242, which are both less than 90 in the new system.
 
I have a question for the "school admin": Once your step 2 becomes available, will the programs that still have your app (and have not invited you for interview and have not rejected you) look at the new ck score to decide where on the waitlist you will be placed?
Or do they just download it and keep it in your file and nobody really looks at it? I.e is it too late for a great step 2 ck score to lead to more interviews? This concerns people who took the test after Sept 15

I appreciate all answers!
 
I don't think there's a simple answer. Each program can do whatever they want.

It's easy for us to see whom has new step scores available.. So, we can review your app again. Whether that will pull you off a "waitlist" is unclear, and depends upon what a program means by a "waitlist". I could see that meaning "a list of people that we might offer interviews to once we get some missing piece of information", like Step 2CK. In that case, it's possible that a program would see your CK score, and offer you an interview. At another program, they might have filled all of their interview slots and have a "waitlist" of people to fill cancellations. In that case, when someone cancels, they review their waitlist and offer the next person a spot.

There are lots of other ways this could play out.
 
aProgDirector said:
I don't think there's a simple answer. Each program can do whatever they want.

It's easy for us to see whom has new step scores available.. So, we can review your app again. Whether that will pull you off a "waitlist" is unclear, and depends upon what a program means by a "waitlist". I could see that meaning "a list of people that we might offer interviews to once we get some missing piece of information", like Step 2CK. In that case, it's possible that a program would see your CK score, and offer you an interview. At another program, they might have filled all of their interview slots and have a "waitlist" of people to fill cancellations. In that case, when someone cancels, they review their waitlist and offer the next person a spot.

There are lots of other ways this could play out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. In that case, do you think there's any potential enefit if we email the program to let them know that our score have updated? In my case, I'm an IMG and my CS score will show up in early December, so I think that might be the reason why several particular places haven't invited me yet (I'm not showing up in the "ECFMG verified" filter yet)...
 
If programs require CS to invite to an interview, telling them that you'll have it in December won't help any. And, in December, it will be mostly too late. So, I don't think that contacting programs will really help. That said, not sure it can hurt much either.
 
Sorry if this has been asked before without me realizing, but I figured I'd post it here since its related to the topic:

I'm currently an MS3 and have a good step 1 score 250+ . I've been told by many people that I should take step 2 late in the event I score lower than step 1. However, I would rather just take it immediately after third year (i.e, before submitting to ERAS) to 'get it out of the way' and free up time for interviews and other electives during 4th year. If I take step 2 and decide to not release my score in the event that I score lower than step 1, will residency programs know I even took it (that is, will they be notified of an unreleased score)? And if so, will it hurt my application if I don't release it?
 
You will have to submit USMLE scores as part of application. If you have taken Step 2 and received a score at the time you submit your NBME transcript, it will be included with your Step 1 score. They are not reported separately. If you just want to submit your Step 1 and see how your Step 2 goes before submitting, you will have to time when you take Step 2 so that your score is not on your transcript when you submit your application. You will also have to disable the automatic reporting of USMLE scores on your ERAS application.

Bottom line, if you want to take Step 2 early, you will have to release your score.
 
You can't release your Step 1, and not release your Step 2. When you release your scores, you release them all.

So, the only way to do this is to apply and release your scores before Step 2 has been reported. Then, we only see Step 1.

We can't tell whether you've taken Step 2 or not. So we can't tell if you're "holding out" on us.

Some programs are starting to insist on Step 2 (especially in more competitive fields).

Bottom line: there is no "right" answer. Most people probably overthink this. Chances are, your score will be fine. A difference of <10 points either way is meaningless. Please don't post "I got 257 on Step 1, but now I just got 252 on Step 2. Oh Noes! My career is over because I did worse!". That's just plain silly.
 
aProgDirector said:
Bottom line: there is no "right" answer. Most people probably overthink this. Chances are, your score will be fine. A difference of <10 points either way is meaningless. Please don't post "I got 257 on Step 1, but now I just got 252 on Step 2. Oh Noes! My career is over because I did worse!". That's just plain silly.
Click to expand...

aPD FTW!
 
fattycakes said:
Sorry if this has been asked before without me realizing, but I figured I'd post it here since its related to the topic:

I'm currently an MS3 and have a good step 1 score 250+ . I've been told by many people that I should take step 2 late in the event I score lower than step 1. However, I would rather just take it immediately after third year (i.e, before submitting to ERAS) to 'get it out of the way' and free up time for interviews and other electives during 4th year. If I take step 2 and decide to not release my score in the event that I score lower than step 1, will residency programs know I even took it (that is, will they be notified of an unreleased score)? And if so, will it hurt my application if I don't release it?
Click to expand...

Just to expand on what aPD and gutonc said, it's specialty and program dependent. A few specialties (and probably the most competitive programs in most specialties) are pretty much requiring Step 2 to be ranked, though very few seem to be requiring it for an interview except in the case of IMGs. Whether your specialty is one that will require it to be ranked is probably a question for your advisors within the specialty, and you should look at the websites of specific programs you're interested as some of them will explicitly state when they expect you to have Step 2 done by.

Beyond that, I would just say to take it whenever you think you'll do the best on it and when it fits best into your schedule. I know everyone freaks out worrying that they're going to do worse, but I haven't spoken to a single person in my class whose score hasn't gone up--even someone with a 260 went up to a 270. If you're starting from >250, you can really only hurt yourself if your score drops by >10 points, and that's incredibly unlikely when most go up 10-15 points assuming you take it seriously and set aside enough time for it. Yes, it's stressful, and you have to study hard again, but your step 1 score shows that a successful step 2 score is certainly within your grasp.
 
aProgDirector said:
You can't release your Step 1, and not release your Step 2. When you release your scores, you release them all.

So, the only way to do this is to apply and release your scores before Step 2 has been reported. Then, we only see Step 1.

We can't tell whether you've taken Step 2 or not. So we can't tell if you're "holding out" on us.

Some programs are starting to insist on Step 2 (especially in more competitive fields).

Bottom line: there is no "right" answer. Most people probably overthink this. Chances are, your score will be fine. A difference of <10 points either way is meaningless. Please don't post "I got 257 on Step 1, but now I just got 252 on Step 2. Oh Noes! My career is over because I did worse!". That's just plain silly.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. I am taking Step 2 tomorrow (12/28), if I'm understanding you correctly, when my Step 2 score comes out it will automatically be reported to the programs and I no longer have the choice of holding it until after programs submit their final rank lists?

Sorry for what seems like the same question over and over again, the explanation on MyEras is kinda confusing, I actually called them for a clarification and was told I'd still be able to see my Step 2 score before deciding to release it or withhold it.
 
heyyouduh said:
Thank you for the reply. I am taking Step 2 tomorrow (12/28), if I'm understanding you correctly, when my Step 2 score comes out it will automatically be reported to the programs and I no longer have the choice of holding it until after programs submit their final rank lists?

Sorry for what seems like the same question over and over again, the explanation on MyEras is kinda confusing, I actually called them for a clarification and was told I'd still be able to see my Step 2 score before deciding to release it or withhold it.
Click to expand...
This is a totally different question than the one asked above.

If when you applied via ERAS you chose the "manual transmission" option for USMLE scores, then it will be completely your call whether to release your new scores to programs or not. I believe you can pick and choose which programs to release scores to. And programs will not be able to tell you have any new scores (i.e. they can't tell that you didn't release them)

If you chose the "Automatically retransmit" option, well, then your scores get automatically retransmitted.
 
aProgDirector said:
This is a totally different question than the one asked above.

If when you applied via ERAS you chose the "manual transmission" option for USMLE scores, then it will be completely your call whether to release your new scores to programs or not. I believe you can pick and choose which programs to release scores to. And programs will not be able to tell you have any new scores (i.e. they can't tell that you didn't release them)

If you chose the "Automatically retransmit" option, well, then your scores get automatically retransmitted.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I probably misinterpreted your original answer. We indeed do have the option of having the initial choice. :thumbup:
 
aProgDirector said:
This is a totally different question than the one asked above.

If when you applied via ERAS you chose the "manual transmission" option for USMLE scores, then it will be completely your call whether to release your new scores to programs or not. I believe you can pick and choose which programs to release scores to. And programs will not be able to tell you have any new scores (i.e. they can't tell that you didn't release them)

If you chose the "Automatically retransmit" option, well, then your scores get automatically retransmitted.
Click to expand...

You cannot pick and choose which programs to release it to. It's all or none.

(You pick and choose which programs initially got your USMLE transcript and when you update it, all of them get the new one. I suppose if there were any programs you never sent any board scores to, you could continue to keep it hidden.)
 
Raryn said:
You cannot pick and choose which programs to release it to. It's all or none.

(You pick and choose which programs initially got your USMLE transcript and when you update it, all of them get the new one. I suppose if there were any programs you never sent any board scores to, you could continue to keep it hidden.)
Click to expand...
Helpful to know. Thanks!
 
aPD, I'm taking CK tomorrow. Based on the estimated score return time in late January, is there even a point in releasing it? In other words, is the period where programs are frequently downloading updated applications/scores already over or would they actually go back and check it out if I released? If the period is over and I still release, should I bother sending an email to the PC so the program knows that my score is available? FWIW my Step 1 was in the high 260s and I expect a similar or slightly better CK. Thanks!
 
If your CK score is good, there's no reason not to release it. As to how many program will see it at that late date? No way to know (although rank lists aren't due until mid to late Feb). But it can't hurt.
 
I have a slightly unorthodox question. I am an IMG and am applying for match this year (2013). I have had my interviews and now am ranking my programs. When I applied I had Step 1 and Step 2 scores and was awaiting my CS score. In my application I disabled Automatic transmission and when my CS result came I had failed, but as ERAS didn't send my new result to the programs I was able to get a few calls and interview at a few places. In the meantime I quickly gave CS again and managed to pass, thus attaining ECFMG certification. No one has mentioned my missing CS score so far, and now I am wondering if I need to transmit my transcript, revealing my failed CS attempt and whether that will affect my rank, or will the programs be ranking me anyway based on my ECFMG certification which shows them I have cleared all the steps?

If anyone has any experience with this situation or knows anyone I would love to hear some suggestions.
 
I would retransmit. I had to retake one of the exams too. When I went for the interviews I asked the coordinators if they had any deadlines to receive the scores. Guess what, most of them did. I transmitted every thing, before ranking begins.
 
cheruka said:
I would retransmit. I had to retake one of the exams too. When I went for the interviews I asked the coordinators if they had any deadlines to receive the scores. Guess what, most of them did. I transmitted every thing, before ranking begins.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply, that definitely makes sense. I don't want to risk not being ranked due to an incomplete transcript
 
I think even as an IMG a CS fail followed soon after by a pass isn't a big deal. All the programs care about is seeing a passing CS score, since if you don't have it by the start of residency you won't be able to start.
 
When new Step 2 scores become available on the nbme website, does that automatically update your usmle transcript on ERAS? Basically, I got my score report today from NBME, but on my ERAS documents, it is still showing the usmle transcript download date from September. I know that I have to re-transmit to get the scores to the programs I applied to, but it's unclear whether I wait for ERAS to get a new transcript or if hitting the the re-transmit button is the signal for ERAS to download new scores.
 
CourageKid said:
When new Step 2 scores become available on the nbme website, does that automatically update your usmle transcript on ERAS? Basically, I got my score report today from NBME, but on my ERAS documents, it is still showing the usmle transcript download date from September. I know that I have to re-transmit to get the scores to the programs I applied to, but it's unclear whether I wait for ERAS to get a new transcript or if hitting the the re-transmit button is the signal for ERAS to download new scores.
Click to expand...

You have to hit the retransmit button in order for ERAS to request a new transcript from USMLE. When they get the new transcript they will upload it and then your programs will automatically receive it the next time they log in.
 
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