Submitting ERAS

I thought we'd get up bright and early this morning and click on "submit". Everything was done, has been for a while.
However, we've agonized over some details.
Oh well.
We'll figure it out and submit soon.
m

Oh, just do it and then pretend it doesn't exist until the fall/winter when you have to do interviews!

GL!

You're right.

He's not home now, so I'll let him do it when he gets home.

Re: Submitting ERAS

Wow, it's that time of year already? This time last year we were agonizing over all the details and this process. I don't envy you.

Just get it in as soon as possible. DH insists that the earlier you get it in, the more advantage you have.

Anyway, it's awesome that you are at the "submit" stage.

[madeintaiwan]

ITA, the earlier you submit the better. You can always alter most of it later. Some programs send out their invites earlier than others. As long as the core (things that can not be changed) is done, I say submit. DH wishes he would have sent his a little earlier. Good luck! I wouldn't wish the match on my worst enemy.

question for you all

So, I guess I'll break down and ask you all our question concerning the ERAS application.

DH has 4 LORs. Most EM programs require 3. DH has heard here and there that people should only submit 3 (SAEM conference and on a couple of posts on sdn). We've seen on sdn that if you give more, it looks like you can't follow directions. DH's advisor has advised submitting all 4 of them. 3 of them are from advanced rotations - so he really has to submit those (if he doesn't it looks fishy, like he's trying to hide his performance I guess). the 4th is a really strong one from the head of the school's EM department - someone who is pretty well known in EM. Also, this 4th one is the only one that is currently submitted. So, programs would see this one right away.

We're leaning towards submitting all 4. Does that sound right to any of you?

Thanks.

m

p.s. Sorry I'm so anal about this. We just want to get it right - seems like EM was pretty tough last season.

[madeintaiwan]

If they specifically say only 3 then I would only submit 3. Some places get really bothered by the not following directions thing. DH was told that they won't even look at the extra one and if some letters are stronger than others that would suck if the strong one was the one they didn't read. For ortho they were really specific about who the letters came from. As far as the advanced rotations I wouldn't worry about not submitting one of those. They will see his grade and comments from the rotation when the school sends over his transcripts and deans letter/student performance eval. DH had 5 letters and designated letters to different programs.

We're looking at Freida for each program and it says:

"Required letters of Recommendation" for each program. Most programs have posted "3" and a couple "2".

Re: question for you all

So, I guess I'll break down and ask you all our question concerning the ERAS application.

DH has 4 LORs. Most EM programs require 3. DH has heard here and there that people should only submit 3 (SAEM conference and on a couple of posts on sdn). We've seen on sdn that if you give more, it looks like you can't follow directions. DH's advisor has advised submitting all 4 of them. 3 of them are from advanced rotations - so he really has to submit those (if he doesn't it looks fishy, like he's trying to hide his performance I guess). the 4th is a really strong one from the head of the school's EM department - someone who is pretty well known in EM. Also, this 4th one is the only one that is currently submitted. So, programs would see this one right away.

We're leaning towards submitting all 4. Does that sound right to any of you?

Thanks.

m

p.s. Sorry I'm so anal about this. We just want to get it right - seems like EM was pretty tough last season.

EM spouse here. DH had the same issue. After some back and forth, we defaulted on following directions, submitting only 3 LORs. Go through the 3 aways and select the top 2.

BTW, is he doing any categoricals? If so, then don't have him make the same mistake that DH did (notice I the excusion of 'we', DH assured me that prelims were easy to get into) of only applying to TWO prelims. That was one BIG mistake we wish we would have avoided entirely. We ended up having to scramble for his prelim yr, but bc he matched a 2-4 yr program already, it gave him the in. But do not take that risk, apply to several prelim programs, if possible!

I hope this helps, good luck!

Another EM spouse here. I'll ask DH, but I'm pretty sure you need to follow the recs. Also for EM it doesn't look good for a lot of away rotations, even if they are EM rotations , unless you are in the military. Our friend in the navy did a lot of aways his fourth year. We were thinking of DH doing an away here at the program he ended up matching at but passed on it as he already had two aways. He said they recommend no more than three aways total including your home school.

We are at a 3 yr program on the east coast. If you pm me I'll be more than glad to tell you about it. Also I'll give you info on places he interviewd at and some general info I've gleaned about them (of course with a grain of salt)

GL

Ok, just talked to DH. He says to look at each place you are putting the app in. He said some say " strongly recommend" three LOR's - so to definately do only three. He also some didn't clarify so he did what he thought per program. He looked up each program to check this out. So he picked which of his 6 LOR's he wanted to give per program. He would mix around which LOR's that he gave, as he of course didn't have the actual letter to read. So this was just to cover his back in case one wasn't as strong as another. Also DH said make sure you don't submit your ERAS until your letters are all uploaded, to make sure they are actually done. Some physicians are just so busy, especially at this time of the year, that some dragged on this more than others.

Thanks for the responses. Very nice of you to check with your EM Dh as well.
What a nutty system ERAS and the match are! - and maybe this field as well!
I look forward to this being done and I can concentrate on my own interests again!

m

[planet]

We're also in a 3 year on the east coast. I have a ton of info on things to do with kids out here, but minimal knowledge of the match behind the scenes. It's all fuzzy math and boiling cauldrons as far as I can tell.

I will really have to check with everyone about cities on the east coast when we are doing our rank order list! Seems like most of the programs are out there. We are not that familiar with your area... although have liked the places we've been on a few trips.

m