ERAS - Frequently Asked Questions

ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) is a program of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

The Main Residency Match is managed through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Registration, Ranking, and Results system. Applicants must register with both NRMP and ERAS separately to use the services of each.

You will receive your NRMP ID when you register with the NRMP Match, which opens on September 15. At that time, go back into your MyERAS application and add the number.

Once you have certified and submitted your application, you will not be able to make any changes to your application outside of the information contained under the Personal Information section of the MyERAS application. There are no exceptions.

If you have questions regarding any of the early match specialties, please contact your Society Dean/Physician Advisor or the School Of Medicine Registrar.

A token is an email distributed from the School Of Medicine Registrar via ERAS containing secure registration information. Tokens are usually distributed in mid-February.

Your Society Dean/Physician Advisor can provide advice about letters of recommendation. Applicants will create a Letter Request Form in ERAS then provide the letter writers with the Letter Request Form and Author Tip Sheet. All LoRs will be uploaded directly to ERAS by the letter writer or their designee. Track the status of your application documents in MyERAS and monitor your Message Center for communications from the residency programs.

More information for letter writers is available on the ERAS® Letter of Recommendation Portal (LoRP). You can also contact the ERAS Help Desk or by phone at 202.862.6249.

You can obtain an unlimited number of LoRs, but you may only assign up to 4 LoRs to each residency program. Most programs require at least 3 LoRs. Only LoRs that have been uploaded can be assigned to programs but assignments can be made throughout the application season. However, programs are not guaranteed to view newly assigned LoRs received after initial application to their program.

Applicants upload their own digital photo to MyERAS.

• Photo must be in color, a full front view of your head and shoulders, and with a plain white or light colored background.
• Dimensions should be 2.5 in x 3.5 in (refer to individual program specifications).
• Photo must be saved at a resolution of 150 dots per inch (dpi) in .jpg format with a maximum file size of 100 kb.
• Your photo should be recent and professional looking, not an image taken with a cell phone or cropped from another photo. Remember, this is a program's first impression of you!

The School Of Medicine Registrar Office is responsible for uploading all transcripts and MSPEs into ERAS for residency applicants. Students must submit a Transcript & MSPE Request Form before the transcript and MSPE can be uploaded to ERAS (check the box for both). There is a $7.50 processing fee, payable by check or credit card. There is no fee for your MSPE unless you are an alumni applying for residency, in which case the fee is $7.50.

Our office will start accepting Transcript & MSPE Request Forms from current students for ERAS beginning in mid-August. The deadline to receive transcript requests for ERAS is September 1, 2024. 

It is not necessary to assign the transcript and MSPE in your MyERAS application.  These two documents are considered an automatic part of the application and will be sent to all the programs to which you have applied.  Do not list the MSPE as one of your LoRs.  The MSPE will be released to programs through ERAS on September 25, 2024.

Applicants must authorize the release of their USMLE transcript in order to make assignments of the USMLE transcript to the programs they designate. Once the USMLE transcript is assigned to a program that has been applied to, it cannot be unassigned. The NBME or ECFMG (for IMG Residency) charges a fee of $80 for transmitting USMLE transcripts to the programs designated by applicants. This is a fixed fee assessed one time per application season regardless of the number of programs the USMLE transcript is requested for. The fixed fee cannot be paid prior to applying to programs.

If you would like to resend your USMLE transcript to programs (i.e. new scores were released by the NBME or ECFMG), simply select the Resend My Scores option under the Actions column on the Additional Documents page and confirm your selection. An updated USMLE transcript cannot be transmitted to only a subset of programs; your USMLE transcript will be sent to every program that previously received it.

You can track the status of document uploaded in your MyERAS application.