LOR's/ERAS

[neilc]

hey everyone...i have a question about LOR's. i am currently in the middle of clinicals, and i am getting my LOR's in order. i am fortunate enough to have gathered several strong letters. anyhow, my question is, how do these get sent to ERAS, when it comes time to apply? do i simply gather them myself, and mail them in, and then designate which i would like to include with my application? or do i need to have the letter writers send them to ERAS themselves?

i hope i can gather them up, as my application is about a year off, and i don't want the strong letters to get diluted by the passage of time, if i have to ask them to rewrite them, or send them later.

thanks!

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[starayamoskva]

hey everyone...i have a question about LOR's. i am currently in the middle of clinicals, and i am getting my LOR's in order. i am fortunate enough to have gathered several strong letters. anyhow, my question is, how do these get sent to ERAS, when it comes time to apply? do i simply gather them myself, and mail them in, and then designate which i would like to include with my application? or do i need to have the letter writers send them to ERAS themselves?

i hope i can gather them up, as my application is about a year off, and i don't want the strong letters to get diluted by the passage of time, if i have to ask them to rewrite them, or send them later.

thanks!

You have to determine if the programs you want to apply to use the ERAS application (not all of them do).
I can't speak for everyone but at our school, all the LOR's are sent to the Dean's office where they are scanned into the computer and loaded into ERAS. You should talk to your Dean's office and find out what their policy is regarding this. If you get the letters written a long time in advance of applications you might ask them to put them in a sealed envelope for you to keep in your file until the time it needs to be sent.
Hope this was at least somewhat helpful.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Hey Neil,

Your "Dean's Office" is the ECFMG's ERAS Division. They will not accept LOR's until the start of the process in the year you are applying ~ July/August.

Instead, do one of the following:

1. If its a person you're going to see anytime from June-September of the year you're applying, then hold off and ask for it then and have them send it directly to the ECFMG.

2. If you are doing rotations anywhere and everywhere (as is the case w/many IMG's) then ask for the letter and have it sent to your Clinical Coordinator to be placed into your file. Make sure to ask the letter writer to include your ECFMG ID# somewhere in the letter for you so that you don't have to (add) hand write it down the road. Finally at the end, when the ECFMG starts processing applications, have your school send them in to the ECFMG for you.

You can upload many letters into the system. When the time comes to apply, you have the option of selecting specific letters and personal statements to go to specific places.

Good luck!

 

[neilc]

thanks for the info guys!

so, here is my plan...as application time is about a year away, i am asking/have asked for letters. for the letters i have recieved or asked for already, i am going to keep a copy. then in june, i will contact the writers, give them a copy of the letter they wrote, and ask if they can re-format and send it to ecfmg for me. i will prob just tell my future writers that i will need the letter in june sent directly for me...i think this should work it out.

so, on eras, can i see the letters and decide which to send to the programs? or do i not see the content first? how do i know which letters are from which profs?

thanks again for all the help

 

[Global Disrobal]

When in ERAS you'll have the chance to assign nicknames to different letters. For example, if you have LOR coming from Dr. John, Dr. Mike, and Dr. Adam, you tell ERAS that you have letters from above people (and their insitution) coming in and that you want the letter from Dr. John to be assined the nickname "LOR-JOHN" and so forth. This way when you log onto ERAS and see all your letters on there, you'll know which one is which. You will not be able to see the content.

You generally have the letters sent directly to ECFMG when you "waive" your right to see the letters. This is usually indicated in the body of the letter by the writer so that the programs know that the person wrote them without you seeing the final copy. In your case if you have the letters in your possession, then just go ahead and send them to ECMFG yourself and take out all the other steps (re-formatting, etc). The advantage this way is that you know exactly when the letters are sent in and don't have to sit and wait.

In the meantime, just get the letters, stop worrying about the ERAS steps (since its very straight forward) and enjoy the clinicals.

Catch ya later!

 

[neilc]

thanks for the info, global! i am actually enjoying life right now...doing family med, surfing after clinic, free weekends. good times!

one last question...if i have seen the letters, will that make a difference to the programs? i can't imagine that that is a big deal, but maybe it is...thanks, and hope internship year is fun for you.

 

[Global Disrobal]

It shouldn't make a difference. Albeit some people say the letter is more credible if they knew you wouldn't see it... I think there are more significant aspects to the application that this.

Internship is going well. Realizing how little and how alot I know. Hours suck right now, but we'll see what happens in a few months when I am on my feet.

Catch ya later

PS Where you surfing? I miss my spot at Sand Spit by Santa Barbara in Cali

 

[neilc]

sand spit...great wave! i am spending most of my time in pismo. the surf has been ok, but it is always great to get out there. the clinic i am working at is about 5 minutes from the pier, so i just keep my board in the car, and i am surfing after the last patient of the day....