LOR question

[sam1999]

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Lets say I have 6 LOR ready in ERAS post office. I assigned 4 of them to a program and applied for that program.

Later on I changed my mind, can I remove one of my original assigned letter with another one?

 

[synapse lapse]

Yes, but if they already downloaded it they may have printed a hard copy, in which case you obviously couldn't take it back.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Yes, but if they already downloaded it they may have printed a hard copy, in which case you obviously couldn't take it back.

This is not exactly accurate. Once you send an LOR to me, printed or not, there is no taking it back. You can "inactivate" a letter, and then send a new one. I will now see 5 letters, one of which will be labeled "inactive".

Personally, I find this frustrating. I want to see 3-4 LOR's about you. Not more, and not less. If you have more, good for you. But choose the 4 that you think will represent you best and send them to me. If you think you will be getting one letter a bit later in the season, then send me 3 and save one spot for later. More is not better, and may be worse.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

This is not exactly accurate. Once you send an LOR to me, printed or not, there is no taking it back. You can "inactivate" a letter, and then send a new one. I will now see 5 letters, one of which will be labeled "inactive".

Personally, I find this frustrating. I want to see 3-4 LOR's about you. Not more, and not less. If you have more, good for you. But choose the 4 that you think will represent you best and send them to me. If you think you will be getting one letter a bit later in the season, then send me 3 and save one spot for later. More is not better, and may be worse.

If I have 3 LoRs that I am pretty sure are excellent and one that I think is more in the "good" category, would it be better to send all 4 or to leave it at 3?

My first thought would be to leave out the "good" letter since that would not add anything to the application. However, I worry that will make it look like I couldn't get 4 letters. Is there anything negative about having only 3 LoRs, and is it uncommon to only have 3?

Thanks.

 

[kralwok]

how do you tell if it has been uploaded to the eras post office? do you have to have applied to programs before you can tell?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

If I have 3 LoRs that I am pretty sure are excellent and one that I think is more in the "good" category, would it be better to send all 4 or to leave it at 3?

My first thought would be to leave out the "good" letter since that would not add anything to the application. However, I worry that will make it look like I couldn't get 4 letters. Is there anything negative about having only 3 LoRs, and is it uncommon to only have 3?

Thanks.

Unless programs specifically request 4 letters, three is fine. Check their websites for requirements.

 

[medsRus]

This is not exactly accurate. Once you send an LOR to me, printed or not, there is no taking it back. You can "inactivate" a letter, and then send a new one. I will now see 5 letters, one of which will be labeled "inactive".

Personally, I find this frustrating. I want to see 3-4 LOR's about you. Not more, and not less. If you have more, good for you. But choose the 4 that you think will represent you best and send them to me. If you think you will be getting one letter a bit later in the season, then send me 3 and save one spot for later. More is not better, and may be worse.

aProgDirector, what do you think about employing this technique for IMG-California applications that have to hand over the California letter? That counts as one LOR, so we are really giving one LOR less than available. I would like to hear your thoughts...

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Well, I'm not in CA so I don't know for sure. But if I was, then the cali letter would be one LOR, leaving you with 3. Personally, if I had a choice, I'd limit my program to 3 letters. More letters is not better. Better letters is better.

 

[ILDOC75]

I did not match my stream of choice last year and joined IM instead. Though I like it, I am still interested in my earlier stream. I applied again and I am now getting requests from programs to talk to my current program director.

My Program Director did give me a LOR last year when I told him I was being considered for an Out of Match position where they wanted to know my current performance. Can I use the same letter? Can a Program Director fire a resident for applying for residency in a different stream?

 

[kushdog1]

how do you tell if it has been uploaded to the eras post office? do you have to have applied to programs before you can tell?

Suppose you have 4 LORS that you would use for a certain program. My school suggested we apply them to that one program. This step will prompt your school to send in your LORs to ERAS. When you look at the details of the applied program say, next day, you will see your LORs there. Then onwards when you select a program you will be given an option as to which of the 4 LOR you want applied to which program. I did all this and it worked. Hope this helps.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I did not match my stream of choice last year and joined IM instead. Though I like it, I am still interested in my earlier stream. I applied again and I am now getting requests from programs to talk to my current program director.

My Program Director did give me a LOR last year when I told him I was being considered for an Out of Match position where they wanted to know my current performance. Can I use the same letter? Can a Program Director fire a resident for applying for residency in a different stream?

An updated LOR from your current PD would be ideal. Theoretically, your PD shouldn't fire you for applying to a different specialty. However, many programs hand out contracts to be signed long before match day. Your PD might need to start looking for a replacement, and if found you might not have a spot next year. If your PD didn't terminate you last year for applying to another field, seems unlikely they would do it this year.

 

[ILDOC75]

An updated LOR from your current PD would be ideal. Theoretically, your PD shouldn't fire you for applying to a different specialty. However, many programs hand out contracts to be signed long before match day. Your PD might need to start looking for a replacement, and if found you might not have a spot next year. If your PD didn't terminate you last year for applying to another field, seems unlikely they would do it this year.

I would prefer if programs considering me would first interview me and then talk to my program director about my performance. Is this ok? This is only because I dont want to jeopardize my current residency for the sake of "a bird in a bush". Will this affect my candidature and get me dropped out of the interview candidates list?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I would prefer if programs considering me would first interview me and then talk to my program director about my performance. Is this ok? This is only because I dont want to jeopardize my current residency for the sake of "a bird in a bush". Will this affect my candidature and get me dropped out of the interview candidates list?

Applying to programs without telling your PD is fine, although some PD's will discard your application if there is no PD letter included, assuming the worst. Your issue is different, though. It sounds like programs have reviewed your application, and are interested enough to contact you and ask to contact your PD. Sounds like you got your wish -- sent feelers out and you have some nibbles. If you don't include your PD in the discussion now, many of these programs will refuse to interview you.

 

[ILDOC75]

Applying to programs without telling your PD is fine, although some PD's will discard your application if there is no PD letter included, assuming the worst. Your issue is different, though. It sounds like programs have reviewed your application, and are interested enough to contact you and ask to contact your PD. Sounds like you got your wish -- sent feelers out and you have some nibbles. If you don't include your PD in the discussion now, many of these programs will refuse to interview you.

Thank you very much for your advise. This does clarify a lot of my questions.