Current policies on LOR?

[Macgyver1]

So how should I obtain LOR from my attendings and residents while on my rotations? What is the normal process for AUC students? I know there is some process for the ERAS Application where the letters are sent to them or something. Any guidelines would be great!! Thanks!

[slfarnsw]

As far as getting a letter, you just ask your attending if they'd write one for you. After that, there's two options....you can either have them send it to AUC, and AUC will send it to ERAS for you, or you can have them send it to ERAS directly (that's the route I'd go with knowing first hand MEAS's reputation for "losing" things). Either way, you will need a cover sheet from ERAS where you check whether or not you wave your right to read the letter, etc. Every single LOR has to be submitted with this cover sheet. I'm sure you can get the cover sheet somewhere on their website, but I just emailed MEAS and had them email it to me. Here's the catch...on this cover sheet, you have to write down your ERAS applicant number, which, to the best of my knowledge, you can't get until the summer before your match (for example, the summer of 2008 if you're trying to make the 2009 match). So, what I've been doing in the interim is just having them send the LOR's to me, and I'll mail them to ERAS myself once I get an applicant number. I'm not sure which box I'll check seeing as how I will have obviously read them?????? Maybe someone else has an answer for that??? Also, all LORs have to be typed on company letterhead and signed in blue ink. Hope this helped!

[rokshana]

actually you have the AAMC (ie ERAS) number if you took the MCATs or applied to US school... because when you fill out the ERAS application, it will ask you if you have an AAMC# and will then assign that number to you.

The problem IS that they (your LoR writers) will not be able to mail directly to ECFMG until after July (because they won't have a place to file it, so you can fill out the cover letter (AND the LoR writer will be able to put it in the body of the letter- thats an ERAS requirement too) and have them send the sealed addressed envelope to you (or the school) and then when you DO have an eras acct, then you can send them in (do send in early-- at the beginning of the season, the upload time can lag 4 weeks behind).