Applications, Recommendation Letters, and Other Credentials
Note: Most specialties are using the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). However, some programs within a specialty may still not be using ERAS. The web address for ERAS is www.aamc.org/students/eras. The web site lists which specialties are using ERAS. The San Francisco Matching Program handles neurosurgery and ophthalmology residency positions with their Central Application Service (CAS); the website for the SF Match is http://www.sfmatch.org/.
Below is given general information related to credentials needed for the application process. However, if a residency program gives you different instructions, you should follow those for that program:
(1) Applications:
- ERAS: Applications are done through ERAS website
- CAS: Central Application Service, used by San Francisco Matching Program
- Non-ERAS: Requested by you from the hospitals; Sent directly by you to the hospitals
Once you have chosen the residency programs in which you are interested, you should check for a website for instructions. Most programs are no longer sending basic information through the U.S. mail. You should begin reviewing residency program information and application forms for PGY-I or R1 programs in July or August to give yourself adequate time to assess the individual details required for applying and interviewing.
Some advanced programs, which begin at the PGY-II or R2 level, have retained September or early October deadlines for your application. Information on the residencies and the addresses of the hospitals are in the AMA Directory, a copy of which will be in the Student Affairs Office, or through the Web-based AMA-FREIDA Online (http://www.ama-assn.org/), or the NRMP Home Page (http://www.nrmp.org/), through which you can access the NRMP Directory.
Some specialties (Ophthalmology and Neurosurgery), for which the residency programs begin in the first or second year of postgraduate training, are in separate application (CAS) and matching programs. To request information on these programs, you can download the registration forms at website http://www.sfmatch.org/. For Urology programs, there is also a separate match. Information can be obtained through the website at http://www.auanet.org/, select Students & Residents and then select Residency Matching Program. The Armed Services programs have their own instructions, and some are using ERAS. For these programs, you should check with your Armed Services contact person.
(2) Faculty/Department Recommendation Letters:
- ERAS: Requested by you and submitted to the Student Affairs Office based on recommendation letter format specified by ERAS
- CAS: Requested by you and submitted as instructed by CAS.
- Non-ERAS: Requested directly by you. Sent by the faculty directly to hospital programs based on address list you provide
Residency program requirements vary, but you will usually need two or three faculty recommendation letters. In most cases, you will be requesting faculty letters based on performance in the clinical clerkships or major electives, and thus this contact is made shortly after the course ends and the evaluation has been completed. A follow-up to confirm the request for a recommendation may be done later through a letter to the faculty member. If the program is in ERAS, you will submit an instruction sheet for the faculty member to use in preparing the letter and a contact in the Student Affairs Office to whom the letter should be sent for scanning and transmission through ERAS.
If the program is not in ERAS or CAS, you need to provide the list of names and addresses to whom the letter is to be sent, and the requested letter of recommendation is thus sent directly to the hospital programs. To assist the faculty office with the mailing, you may also wish to provide the addresses on labels.
Regarding confidentiality, if you wish to be able to see the letter a faculty member writes for you, you will need to discuss this at the time you request the letter to be written. Some faculty members may request you to waive your rights to see the letter; others will give you a copy of the letter. Faculty letters received in the Student Affairs Office for transmission through ERAS are considered confidential; i.e. you may not see them in our office, and they are held only for use for the current year's residency applications, i.e. they are not retained for use for future residency applications or for other purposes.
Some residency programs require recommendation letters from the chair of the department of your career interest. The department letter usually includes a summary of your performance in coursework within that department and an overall assessment of how strong a candidate you are for a training program in that specialty. Most departments have established a mechanism to handle these requests even though you may not know the chair. The chair's letter is an important communication to the residency director. I encourage you to make an appointment to discuss your record and career plans with the department chair or his/her designee for writing these letters. Some department faculty may request to see your academic file. You must sign a release of record form before the faculty member is permitted to view your record.
In general, you should only provide the number of letters and credentials requested by the residency directors. This means that you will need to be selective in which faculty members you request to write letters. Unless there is significantly new or unique information to be provided through an additional faculty letter, there is no need to send two or three additional letters beyond what is requested. Some program directors have indicated in their instructions that they will look at the first three letters submitted and discard others.
(3) Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) – formerly Dean’s Letter:
- ERAS: Scanned into the system in October and transmitted November 1 to programs
- Sent directly to the San Francisco Matching Program by the Student Affairs Office
- Non-ERAS: Requested through the Student Affairs Office. Sent directly to the hospital programs based on student’s label list
The Dean's MSPE consists of a section on your Academic History in medical school, comments on your Academic Progress in the basic science and clinical coursework, and a reference to the status of the III and USMLE graduation requirements. A draft of the Dean’s MSPE is sent to the student in August/September for review, and there is an opportunity to meet with Dr. MacLaren to discuss the letter and to submit a request for modifications if you feel that something is inaccurate. However, keep in mind that students do not have “editorial rights” on the content of the letter. You will be asked to sign a release of record form for the Dean's MSPE prior to it being scanned into ERAS or being released to CAS, Armed Services, or non-ERAS programs. The Dean’s MSPE includes coursework into the Summer Quarter of the senior year for evaluations which have been received by the first week in September. The MSPE will be finalized in early October so that it can be prepared for transmission through ERAS or for mailing to non-ERAS programs by the national release date of November 1. Most programs expect to receive the Dean's MSPE at the time of the November 1 release date, thus any delay in transmitting it may affect your getting an interview.
It is important to keep the timing of the release of your credentials in mind when setting aside time to interview. Many programs have screening committees that require that your application be complete with all recommendation letters before a review will be conducted to determine whether you will be asked for an interview. This process of review by the program's screening committee can take anywhere from two weeks to a month when you take into account the time to download and organize information from each applicant, the committee meeting time, and the time to email or mail an interview invitation to you. Thus, you will want to select a period of time for planning interviews that will allow you to be efficient in the use of your time. This becomes even more important if you are applying to an advanced specialty that requires applications to preliminary medicine, preliminary surgery, or transitional programs as well.
(4) Official University of Washington Transcript:
- ERAS: Printed by Student Affairs Office and scanned into ERAS for transmission.
- CAS: Printed by Student Affairs Office and sent to San Francisco Matching Program with Dean's MSPE.
- Non-ERAS: Requested by you through Schmitz Hall. Sent directly to hospital programs based on your request.
For non-ERAS programs, requests for mailing the University transcript of your medical school coursework are arranged by you through the Transcript Office in Schmitz Hall. There is a charge of $4 for each official medical school transcript requested. The mailing of the transcripts is not subject to the November 1 Dean's MSPE release date. It is recommended that you coordinate the timing of the mailing of the transcript with your other credentials to be certain that your application will be considered complete no later than when the Dean's letter is received by the program. Many of the very competitive programs and those in the early matching programs will make decisions on interviews based solely on the faculty letters and transcript prior to November 1.
If you completed your undergraduate degree or any other undergraduate, non-medical school course at this University, you will need to request that the transcript only list your medical school coursework. Otherwise, the transcript will reflect all courses taken at any time at the University. If you are a combined degree student, your graduate coursework will be included and cannot be separated out from your medical school coursework.
For ERAS programs, the transcripts printed by the Student Affairs Office will include all coursework taken at the University, i.e., we cannot modify your record to only medical school coursework.
(5) MCAT and USMLE:
- For MCAT scores, you will need to request these be sent through the appropriate testing agency.
- Official transcripts of USMLE scores can be transmitted through ERAS for a fee.
- For non-ERAS programs, you may need to have scores sent officially through the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) office or you can send copies of score sheet you received from the NBME.
(6) Other Transcripts:
- Requested by you through the Institution in which the work was completed. Sent directly to hospitals based on your request.
- Some programs require undergraduate transcripts. For ERAS and non-ERAS programs, these must be requested through the college where the work was completed. If you were admitted to the medical school with advanced standing, you will probably need to send credentials on the coursework taken prior to admissions to this school. All such requested credentials of work done outside of the School of Medicine are sent directly from the institution where the work was done to the residency programs.
(7) Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) and Personal Statements:
- ERAS: Transmitted as part of ERAS application.
- CAS: Sent directly to this application service by you.
- Non-ERAS: Sent directly to hospital programs by you with your application.
Many students develop a curriculum vita or resume whether or not it is requested by the residency program. It is a good exercise for organizing basic information about yourself, your educational background, and your major accomplishments. In addition to using the C.V. for applications, some faculty members may ask to see a C.V. as part of their development of a requested faculty recommendation letter.
Residency programs will ask you to submit a personal statement or may ask several directed questions related to your personal and professional development and potential career path. This part of the application process is often the most time-consuming for you because you need to create what you want to say about yourself and your goals. You may wish to prepare different personal statements that are more directed to individual programs. In general, you do not need to send both a personal statement and C.V. unless they are providing unique information. It is not usually helpful to the residency director to receive the same information in multiple formats. The ERAS application is structured to allow the residency director to print the information you have provided in a CV format if that is what is preferred by the residency program.
As you probably realize by the length of this descriptive material, the application process for residency training is an involved one and one that demands both your and our attention to many details and deadlines. For each of the major phases of the process, we will communicate with you through the office mailings or emails. It will be important for you to read the information carefully and respond promptly. If you have any questions or if problems arise, please feel free to make an appointment with me at any time during the year.
Carol F. MacLaren, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
(206) 543-5561