Best Foreign Medical Schools

To: IMGs Using ERAS(r)

From: ERAS Support Services at ECFMG(r)

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PREPARING FOR THE ERAS 2010 APPLICATION SEASON

- ERAS TOKEN FEE INCREASES

- MANDATORY USE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH UPLOAD FEATURE

- ERAS 2010 REPEAT APPLICANTS CAN REUSE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

- ERAS SUPPORT SERVICES AT ECFMG WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL
SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

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PREPARING FOR THE ERAS 2010 APPLICATION SEASON

Information on the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) 2010
application season is now available. If you plan to apply for U.S.
residency positions that begin in July 2010, visit the ECFMG ERAS
Support Services website at www.ecfmg.org/eras for important
information. Most medical specialties participate in ERAS. If you apply
to programs in participating specialties, you must apply to these
programs using ERAS.

At ECFMG’s ERAS Support Services website, you will be able to:

- Obtain an ERAS Token, which will allow you to access the MyERAS
website to work on your residency applications.

- Find instructions for submitting your supporting documents, such as
letters of recommendation and transcripts, to ERAS Support Services for
transmission to the ERAS PostOffice.

If you plan to participate in ERAS, you should also be familiar with the
following policies and procedures that are new for ERAS 2010.

ERAS TOKEN FEE INCREASES

The fee for a Token has increased to $90 per ERAS application season.
The Token is a 14-digit, alpha-numeric code required to register at the
MyERAS website. Tokens are valid for one ERAS season only; the ERAS
software will not recognize a Token issued for a previous ERAS season.

You can obtain a Token via ECFMG’s OASIS beginning on Tuesday, June 23,
2009.

MANDATORY USE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH UPLOAD FEATURE

If you wish to submit a photograph as part of your ERAS application, you
must submit a digital photograph via the ERAS Support Services section
of ECFMG’s OASIS. Photographs mailed to ERAS Support Services for
scanning will not be accepted. For instructions on how to upload your
digital photograph, see the Documents page of the ERAS Support Services
at ECFMG website at www.ecfmg.org/eras/documents.html.

If you participated in the ERAS 2009 season and submitted a photograph,
ERAS Support Services will reuse that photograph for ERAS 2010. If you
wish to update your photograph, follow the instructions for uploading a
digital photo via ECFMG’s OASIS.

ERAS 2010 REPEAT APPLICANTS CAN REUSE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

If you participated in the ERAS 2009 season and also participate in the
ERAS 2010 season, you are considered a Repeat Applicant. Repeat
Applicants are not required to resubmit Medical Student Performance
Evaluations (MSPEs), medical school transcripts, or photographs unless
they want to update these documents. New for ERAS 2010, Repeat
Applicants also will be able to reuse those Letters of Recommendation
(LoRs) that they assigned to at least one program during the ERAS 2009
season.

You will be automatically identified as a Repeat Applicant at the time
you make an ERAS 2010 Token request via OASIS. ERAS Support Services
will retrieve your stored ERAS 2009 MSPE, medical school transcript, and
photograph and upload them to the ERAS 2010 PostOffice within three to
five business days from the time you use your Token to register at
MyERAS. ERAS Support Services will retrieve any LoR that you assigned to
at least one program during ERAS 2009 and upload it to the ERAS
PostOffice within one to two business days from the time that you
reserve an electronic slot for the letter writer at MyERAS. You will be
able to track the status of these existing documents via the ERAS
Support Services section of ECFMG’s OASIS.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only those LoRs that were assigned to at least one
program during ERAS 2009 will be reused for ERAS 2010. If you submitted
an LoR but did not assign it to any programs during ERAS 2009, that LoR
will not be available for reuse in ERAS 2010. To use that letter for
ERAS 2010, submit it to ERAS Support Services, accompanied by a
completed Document Submission Form.

For more information, including instructions on how to reuse LoRs, see
the Repeat Applicants page of the ERAS Support Services at ECFMG website
at www.ecfmg.org/eras/repeat.html.

ERAS SUPPORT SERVICES AT ECFMG WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL
SCHOOLS TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

ERAS Support Services at ECFMG is collaborating with international
medical schools that have formally agreed to submit supporting documents
electronically to ECFMG on behalf of their students/graduates. These
documents include MSPEs, medical school transcripts, and LoRs.

Electronic submission of supporting documents eliminates the need for
ERAS Support Services to scan these documents, enabling ERAS Support
Services to upload documents to the ERAS PostOffice within two to three
business days of their receipt at ECFMG. Currently, ERAS Support
Services requires up to four weeks to scan and upload documents to the
ERAS PostOffice.

This method of document submission is open to all international medical
schools that wish to participate. For more information, interested
schools should contact ERAS Support Services at eras-support@ecfmg.org;
enter “Electronic Document Submission / Attn: Ms. Anna Iacone” in the
subject line.

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Copyright (c) 2009 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical
Graduates (ECFMG(r)). All rights reserved.