caduceus
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along wid lor we need to attach this document submission form right
http://ecfmg.org/eras/docform.pdf
now if we have more than 10 lors to submit what to do?
m going to apply in im,fm,pedia...
and in cover sheet do we need to ad aamc id esp when we need to waive them..i have already got it way back..can i still waive them by myself?
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| cartman
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The answer to your first question in my opinion would be........yes you do need the document submission form. It says so in the file that you have attached in your post.
What are going you to do with 10 + LORs ???????? Even if you have that many just pick the best ones. You can only submit a max of four to a program. IM, MD, Pediatrics are pretty related. An LOR is an LOR. It should be considered acceptable by any residency program regardless of the specialty, provided it meets certain criteria like being written within the last one year, being signed in a color other than black. Your AAMC ID need not be mentioned in the letter as long as its on your cover sheet or your document submission form.
Once you are in possesion of an LOR........you cannot waive your right to see it. That would just be absurd. How can you expect them to take your word that you did not see the letter? Waiving your right to see a letter means that you have truly not seen the letter and have no knowledge of its content. A waived letter must reach ECFMG through the letter writer not from your address.
Hope this helps........
Edited by cartman on 06/17/08 - 04:41 AM
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| caduceus
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thanks a lot...
I had a question regarding the LOR cover letter
they have changed the format
and this year they have included specialty in the cover letter itself...
so if we applying for fp and im...will both the programs be able to view the fact that the letter has been assigned to both the specialties....????
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| cartman
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I don't think the residency programs will be viewing your LOR cover sheets. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. That should only be for ERAS / ECFMG purpose. They should only be able to view your LOR. Right?
That's just what I think. Don't know it for a fact.
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| caduceus
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thanks cartman
anyone else to guide me?
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| mukho
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cartman wrote:
The answer to your first question in my opinion would be........yes you do need the document submission form. It says so in the file that you have attached in your post.
What are going you to do with 10 + LORs ???????? Even if you have that many just pick the best ones. You can only submit a max of four to a program. IM, MD, Pediatrics are pretty related. An LOR is an LOR. It should be considered acceptable by any residency program regardless of the specialty, provided it meets certain criteria like being written within the last one year, being signed in a color other than black. Your AAMC ID need not be mentioned in the letter as long as its on your cover sheet or your document submission form.
Once you are in possesion of an LOR........you cannot waive your right to see it. That would just be absurd. How can you expect them to take your word that you did not see the letter? Waiving your right to see a letter means that you have truly not seen the letter and have no knowledge of its content. A waived letter must reach ECFMG through the letter writer not from your address.
Hope this helps........
my opinion on some of this
LOR writers should mention in the subject of their letter whether u have waived ur right to see or not. They can however give u a sealed copy which u can then post to ECFMG, the letter doesnt HAVE to come from the LOR writers address...
10 LORs surprises u cartman? I had 19 ...yes, true u are allowed to send only 4 at a time but ,depending on programs, there isnt a restriction as to how many u can send.
When i received a LOR in november end from my second observership there was no way to provide programs with any documented evidence of my experience besides this LOR...i called up the prog to ask if I could submit another LOR...majority said send it in by email/fax (it was not waived) while a few said the did not accept more than 4...so it varies.
Secondly when before my prematching I was struggling to convince my program how great I was they asked if I had something more from my med school, and I submitted all my 19 LORs to them!! and the method was pretty easy too...i uncheked the LORs i had previously assigned to this prog (they had already downladed these) and uploaded another 4...it can be done
also different LORs may be for specialities (though mine were all peds) and depending on the writer may have different importance for different programs
I am not saying everyone should get 19 LORs ...just an experience
cover letter doesnt get seen by programs...
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| caduceus
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k thanks mukho...
bt as document submission form has only 10 columns can we attach one more document submission form to send them 10+ lors?
and do i need to mail all of them to eras in one parcel or separately for every lor?
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| arlete
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cartman:
The "one year old letter" is a rule written somewhere, or just common knowledge?
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| mukho
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caduceus: yes just attach another form...u dont need to parcel them separately
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| caduceus
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thanks mukho...
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| cartman
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Arlete, the so called one year rule is just something I came across while researching programs on FREIDA.
Its prefered by some programs that the letters be recent. I hate this as I have some really fabulous letters that were written more than one year ago. I don't think there is any rule against submitting older letters. I should also mention that I've mostly researched Psych programs so this may not apply to other specialties.
I had actually asked this question on this forum before and was told that its really better to have recent letters rather than old ones. I wish it wasn't so though.
http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/69697/
Edited by cartman on 06/17/08 - 07:06 PM
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| cartman
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thanks for correcting me about the LOR deal mukho. The prematch and unchecking the LORs bit was specially a useful tip.
i wasn't going to send in all my LORs (no i don't have 19 like you) but after reading your reply i'm sending in all the LORs i have.
Edited by cartman on 06/17/08 - 07:09 PM
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| arlete
Intern in 2009!!!!!
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Thank you, cartman. I have some wonderful letters, too, but my writers are so busy that I am afraid they may not send another to ERAS. Will I have time to send the ones I have in case they don't send new ones? When would be my best limit to wait for the new ones to arrive, then I would give up and send the old ones?
If anybody knows, please let me know.
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| cartman
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I'm really sorry but I don't have the answer to that Arlete. I chose not to waive my rights and will be sending in my LORs to ERAS myself. I'm too much of a control freak to leave that to my letter writers. I know.............I've got issues.
I can certainly understand where you are coming from though. Even though my letter writers were very kind and gracious, I hated reuesting LORs from my letter writers. Its such a helpless and vulnerable feeling. The fear of rejection really gets to me. Having said that..........it definitely is worth a shot. Maybe you can give them copies of your older LORs that they wrote and they could tweak them a little and resend. They might hurry if you told them them about your deadines.
Good luck !
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| mukho
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arlete wrote:
Thank you, cartman. I have some wonderful letters, too, but my writers are so busy that I am afraid they may not send another to ERAS. Will I have time to send the ones I have in case they don't send new ones? When would be my best limit to wait for the new ones to arrive, then I would give up and send the old ones?
If anybody knows, please let me know.
i had asked a few programs....mostly they were vague about the exact definition of "recent" ...most of the students (AMGs) however felt that as ECFMG recommends inclusion of AAMC ID number the LOR should be as recent as after july 1 of match year!! And that makes sense because the system was designed for 4th yr med students. So when I said I had old LORs there were 2 issues--my old LORs didnt fulfill the criteria written on the cover letter, and the programs didnt really know would be a disqualifingly old LOR...they seemed concerned that the letter should have been written for the purpose of Match and not some generic LOR, ...I got the feeling that while they understand if a few months, absence of a few criteria in LOR...the more ur lor differs from norm the less impressed they are with it...
arlete: following is something you could try--ask ur LOR writer to send the LOR, but also send in the old one u have, early ...then wait for his/her to reach ERAS till feasible, then if it doesnt just upload the one u had sent...u will have to name the two a bit differently,.. say the lor writers name is john smith...so the cover letter u send with ur old lor write Dr J Smith and the cover letter u send him, name that John Smith, MD...that way when uploading u will know which one to choose..i have never tried it, but should work...
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| docdoc9
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My LoR's are old.Do I have to write the aamc id on the LOR or will I be tampering it
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| mukho
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if u waived the lor then obviously u cant write on it, u can just write on the envelope they are in
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| truedoc
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I have not waived my rights to see my Lor's .They are all with me.Can i write my AAMC ID number on the letter ? Since i have not waived then i can not attach the LOR cover letter with the LOR, So will it be ok to write the ID in the LOR itself? Pls clarify.
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| mukho
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last year i had a number of doubts ans had got this reply from eras ...thought posting it here would clear some this year too...truedoc ur quesion is similar to my 4th so i think u can write it...but again the best method aways is to talk to ecfmg/eras/programs in case of anydoubts.
I had a few questions regarding letter of recommendations(LOR)
required by ERAS.
1.The letter head of our Department is different from the one used by
the Medical College and Hospital it is affiliated with. While our
teachers have no problem signing LORs typed on the Department letter
head, they are not allowed to sign the same on the college letter
head which states "Office of Principal and Controller". So is it alright if they write on the
Department letter head and not the Medical College letter head?
2.Many teachers have different 'official' letter heads. For example
the Head of department of one institute where I worked has a
personalized letter head bearing the symbol of the institute along
with his designation. So is it alright to get a LOR on one of those?
3.As the teachers of our schools have a transferable job, many have
left the school since they worked with me there. Thus their present
letter head belongs to a different institute. So is it alright if they
write the LOR in their present letter head and mention the school or
institute where they were in contact with me?
4.Can I enter the AAMC ID number into a blank space left on a typed
and signed LOR, if I don't waive the right to see it?
5.In case I waive my right to see the LOR, is it alright if they give
me sealed envelopes (with a signature across the seal) and I post it
to the ERAS.
Dear Doctor,
Thank you for contacting ERAS Support Services at ECFMG.
1. This should not be a problem.
2. This should also not be a problem.
3. Yes, as long as there is contact information provided.
4. Yes.
5. Yes.
GL everyone!
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| truedoc
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Thanks a lot Mukho. You are Godsend. All these questions and answers were weighing heavily on my mind and its been clarified. Thank you so much Mukho.
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| mukho
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 ur welcome!
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