Residency Letters of Recommendation Fact Sheet and Resources
Thank you for providing a Letter of Recommendation (LoR) for our EVMS students. Your letter is a very
important component of their residency application. In fact, results of the 2014 NRMP Program Director
survey identified LoRs as the second most important factor in selecting applicants for interview. We
therefore appreciate your time and efforts in constructing a meaningful letter.
A new mandate by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) requires that all LoR
authors upload their letters directly onto the online Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
LoR Portal. You no longer have the option of sending the letters to our Dean’s office ERAS administrator
for upload, and the Dean’s office no longer has the capability to do so. We hope this webpage will assist
you in writing the letter and uploading it onto the Portal.
ALL LETTERS SHOULD BE UPLOADED NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 15. The ERAS opens to all program
directors on this date. The absence of a letter may jeopardize a student’s success in getting the interviews
of their choice.
Tips for Writing the LOR
Have the student’s Curriculum Vitae and Letter Request Form (Cover Sheet) available. The Request form
contains the student’s AAMC ID number needed in writing your letter.
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Heading: Please include a professional letterhead at the top. If for some reason this is not
available, at least include your complete return address, centered on the top
Date
Inside Address of Program Director
Salutation – use “Dear Program Director” (specific name is not required)
Subject Line (typed as “Subject:” or “Re:” – state the student’s AAMC ID number found on the
Request Form
Body Paragraphs
o Paragraph 1: state your relationship to the student, how long you have known them,
and the fact that they have waived their right to view this letter
o Paragraph 2: provide specific examples of the student’s achievements and
contributions
o Paragraph 3: summarize your overall assessment and level of enthusiasm. Examples
may include “enthusiastically endorse”, “strongly recommend”, or “recommend” for the
top, middle, and lower student, respectively.
o Check for errors in spelling, grammar, student’s name, and gender pronouns.
Closure – end with “Sincerely”, Sincerely yours”, “Yours truly” or the like, followed by your
signature.
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Save your letter as a PDF with the following requirements:
o File cannot exceed 500 KB
o File cannot be password protected
o File page cannot exceed 8.5 x 11 inches
o File name cannot contain spaces or special characters
Tips for uploading your LOR
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Access the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Letter of Recommendation Portal
(LoRP) https://www.aamc.org/services/eras/282520/lor_portal.html
 You and your administrative staff need to Register and create user names and passwords. If
needed, detailed and illustrated instructions on how to register are provided in the Getting
Started tab on the above portal website, or the User Guide below.
NOTE: only Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers are supported for the LoRP
 Follow the prompt to upload your letter. PDFs with encryption, password protection, or digital
signatures cannot be processed.
What if you need to amend an uploaded letter?
Once a letter is uploaded, it cannot be deleted or altered. To make changes, you must submit a
new letter. Program Directors can only view the most recent letter.
Resources
ERAS Letter of Recommendation Portal User Guide:
https://www.aamc.org/download/286098/data/lorp_ug.pdf
ERAS Letter of Recommendation Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.aamc.org/services/eras/377400/faq.html
ERAS LoR Authors support from AAMC
[email protected]
Help Desk Hours of Operation: Mon.-Fri. 8AM-6PM EST
202-862-6249
EVMS Support
[email protected]
Ms. Vera S. Potts-Anderson, EVMS ERAS Administrator
Office of Student Affairs
700 West Olney Rd, Lewis Hall, Norfolk VA 23507
Office phone 757-446-5827
Fax 757-446-5817