It’s about that time again for another application season. Feels like one has hardly ended yet another has begun. By July 1, every intending applicant for the 2012 match needs to buy a token from ERAS to set up their application page.

For the IMG, you go through ECFMG. A token is a set of series of numbers that are generated by ERAS after you have paid a fee. I think it is currently $90. Please refer to the ERAS or ECFMG website. Though September 1 is the actual application start date, you have almost 2 months to set up your applications including forwarding the necessary documents to ECFMG (digital photos, transcript, MSPE, letters of recommendation (LOR)).

Don’t forget to register on NRMP since you can’t rank programs without the NRMP. From this year, the post-match scramble is now organized to what is called the SOAPn(http://www.nrmp.org/). SOAP stands for Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program. Please get familiar with this on the NRMP and ECFMG websites.

All the best as you prepare this year.