At this point in the year, we applicants are eagerly awaiting submission of our letters of recommendation to complete our ERAS applications. Some of us may even have the opportunity to get another LOR from our current rotation (or even one coming up next month). I was wondering how important it is to have LORs submitted as early as possible or whether it was just as safe to submit them by the application deadline. I know interview invitations are not extended on a rolling basis, but I wanted to make sure that finalizing that last LOR the day before the deadline would not hinder my application in any way. From what you know, do programs begin reviewing applications before all the letters are finalized (before their application deadline) or do they wait until your application is complete or the deadline has passed?
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I imagine this will be one of the first in an avalanche of questions stemming from our MS4 neuroses. We appreciate you taking the time to walk us through the process.
It does seem that more and more programs are offering interviews before the Dean's Letter is released (first week of November) which obviously implies that programs do not wait for the application to be "finalized". It is in your best interest to get your letters in as soon as possible therefore. I encourage our faculty to write their letters immediately after the sub-internship is over so they can be downloaded to ERAS ASAP.
As an applicant, do what you can to help - get your ERAS cover sheet to the respective office coordinators as soon as possible and gently remind them if the letter is lagging behind. And for the 4 schools that continue to ask for supplemental forms (Vanderbilt, U Washington, Wash U-St. Louis, and Yale) please get these to your LOR writers ASAP as well. If your attending is writing 10 letters for applicants these additional forms start to add up so it's also in your best interest to get these taken care of immediately.
