Some thoughts at this point:
-It’s very important NOT to freak out at this stage on seeing that candidate X got 3 interviews and I haven’t even received an acknowledgement. I have a better profile than him and I still don’t have a single call. So on and so forth. May be they haven’t reached your profile. May be, he rotated there. May be, he has a link there. May be, his profile was screened before you. On an average, these programs receive 4000 to 6000 applications so don’t expect them to process all of them so fast. Give them time. It’s still too early in the season.
-If you get an email invitation, you reply via email and if you get an invitation through ERAS, reply through ERAS! If you get an interview via thalamus, you first schedule the interview quickly on thalamus and then send a polite thank you email!
-Replying quickly is important. There is no fancy language required. Just accept it and thank them in 2-3 lines.
-Keep checking spam.
-Thalamus is an interview scheduling portal. If a program invites you via thalamus, you will get an invite from the thalamus portal, where you will be able to log in and schedule the interview. Making an account before you get that email is not going to help!
-If they say CASPER is optional, its not optional for you! Go ahead and take it!
-Also, please keep reporting those NCLEX/USMLE spammers. They keep coming back!!