I just spoke to my OR over the phone. He said that they ended up not having an auto board at the end of last month because the board was pushed up to January 16. Instead, the scheduled board on 1/16 will just handle all of the applicants -- auto select and all others going before the board at the same time. He also said that those who are auto selects *might* hear back a bit earlier than everyone else, but that's not guaranteed. If anyone has heard differently from their recruiter let me know, but this makes sense because the auto board was scheduled for 12/31 after all - New Years Eve.