The 2027 ERAS season opens June 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET, when MyERAS opens for applicants to start building their applications. You cannot submit to programs yet on that date. Submission opens September 2, 2026, and programs can begin reviewing submitted applications on September 23, 2026.
Those three dates set the whole calendar. Everything from your personal statement to your letter requests to your program list works backward from September 2. IMGs need one extra step first: ECFMG released 2027 tokens on June 24, 2026, and you need that token to register in MyERAS.
When Does ERAS Open for the 2027 Cycle?
June 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET. That’s when the 2027 ERAS season begins and applicants can start entering data in MyERAS: personal information, education, experiences, and the personal statement. The season runs through May 31, 2027, at 5 p.m. ET.
Two other dates matter more for planning:
- September 2, 2026, 9 a.m. ET: you can begin submitting your MyERAS application to programs.
- September 23, 2026, 9 a.m. ET: programs can begin reviewing MyERAS applications and MSPEs in the Program Director’s WorkStation.
That three-week gap means you can submit before programs begin reviewing files. Submitting on day one still matters: many programs may review applications on a rolling basis, and early submission keeps you near the front of that queue.
Month-by-Month: What to Do When
| Timeframe | What Happens | What You Should Be Doing |
| June 2026 | ERAS opens (June 4); IMG tokens released (June 24) | Register in MyERAS, enter your work and activities, draft your personal statement, request letters of recommendation |
| July-August 2026 | Letter writers upload through the new AAMC Letter Writer Portal | Confirm each letter writer has portal access, finalize your program list, research program signaling participation for your specialty |
| September 2, 2026 | Submission opens | Submit to programs on day one if your application, letters, and MSPE authorization are ready |
| September 23, 2026 | Programs begin reviewing | Applications are now visible to program directors; interview invitations typically start within weeks |
| October-January | Interview season | Interview, send program-specific thank-yous, track your program-signal allocations if your specialty participates |
| February-March 2027 | Rank list and Match | Submit your rank order list; Match Day falls in mid-to-late March per the NRMP calendar (confirm the exact date on nrmp.org closer to the season) |
If your school’s timeline runs faster or slower than this, follow your clerkship and dean’s office deadlines. They set your internal deadlines for MSPE release and letter compilation, and those can run ahead of the AAMC dates above.
What’s New in MyERAS for 2027?
Two structural changes affect how you build your application this cycle.
Letters of recommendation move to a dedicated portal. Starting with the 2027 cycle, all letters go through the AAMC Letter Writer Portal instead of being uploaded piecemeal through varying processes. Send your letter writers to the ERAS Letter Writers page early. A writer without portal access in July is a bottleneck in August.
Publications becomes Scholarly Work. The old Publications section is replaced with Scholarly Work, which lets you mark up to three entries as “Most Meaningful” and group related work into Scholarly Collections. If you have research experience, rebuild this section rather than assuming your old draft copies over cleanly.
Separately, USMLE transcript processing moved to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) beginning in June 2026. Request your transcript through FSMB’s portal, not the old NBME process, and build in extra lead time the first cycle a new system is live.
How Much Does Applying Through ERAS Cost?
AAMC uses a simplified per-specialty tier structure for the 2027 season:
| Programs Applied To (per specialty) | Cost Per Application |
| First 30 | $11 each |
| 31st and beyond | $30 each |
Pricing resets per specialty. AAMC’s own example: 43 Internal Medicine programs plus 7 Radiology programs comes to $797 total. Add an $80 COMLEX-USA transcript fee, once per season, if that transcript is part of your file. USMLE transcripts no longer route through AAMC; requests go through the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), so check FSMB’s current fee.
If cost is a real constraint, look into the AAMC Fee Assistance Program before you build your list. In that same example, an FAP-approved applicant pays $239 instead of $797. Apply early. It’s a separate process with its own review time, and you don’t want to be waiting on approval the week you plan to submit.
How Many Programs Should You Apply To?
There’s no single right number, and anyone who gives you one without asking about your specialty and your application is guessing. What actually drives it:
- Specialty competitiveness. Highly competitive specialties (dermatology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, otolaryngology) generally see wider application counts than primary care, where the 2026 Match data showed higher fill rates and more headroom.
- Your USMLE Step 2 CK score relative to your specialty’s typical matched range. A score comfortably above average supports a leaner, more targeted list. A borderline score argues for casting wider.
- Visa status, for IMGs. The 2026 Match data showed a real gap: US-citizen IMGs matched at a record 70.0 percent, while foreign-born IMGs requiring visa sponsorship matched at 54.4 percent, a five-year low. If you need sponsorship, check each program’s visa policy directly and work out your list strategy with your advising office.
Build your list with your advising office or program director, not off a generic online number. They know how your application has performed with similar programs in past cycles.
How Does Program Signaling Work in 2027?
Program signals let you flag a limited number of programs per specialty where you have a specific, above-baseline interest. The number of signals and which specialties participate vary, and AAMC updates the participating-program list in late August. Check the Program Signaling page for your specialty; assuming last cycle’s rules is a mistake.
Use signals on programs where your interest is genuine and specific, not your top five reach programs by name recognition. Program directors read signals as a real, if imperfect, filter, and a signal that doesn’t match the rest of your application (geography, away rotation history) reads as noise.
Common Pitfalls
Waiting until August to request letters. Letter writers need weeks, not days, especially with everyone adjusting to the Letter Writer Portal for the first time. Ask in June.
Treating September 2 as a suggestion. At programs that review on a rolling basis, earlier complete applications may be seen sooner. A complete application submitted September 2 isn’t competing on equal footing with one submitted September 20 once interview invitations start going out.
Building your program list off last year’s advice. Specialty fill rates and IMG match rates moved meaningfully in the 2026 cycle. A list built on 2024 assumptions doesn’t reflect where the specialty sits now.
Skipping the AAMC pages for secondhand summaries. Dates and fees change cycle to cycle. Confirm directly against AAMC’s own 2027 timeline and fee pages before you build your calendar.
FAQ
When does the ERAS 2027 season officially open? June 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. ET. That’s when MyERAS opens for applicants to begin building their applications, not when you can submit to programs.
How many programs should I apply to? There’s no universal number. It depends on your specialty’s competitiveness, your USMLE Step 2 CK score relative to that specialty’s typical matched range, and, for IMGs, visa status. Build your list with your advising office using your own application’s strengths.
What is the ERAS application fee for 2027? $11 per program for the first 30 programs in a specialty, then $30 per program for the 31st program and beyond, with pricing resetting for each additional specialty. A COMLEX-USA transcript fee of $80 applies once per season if that transcript is part of your file; USMLE transcript requests now go through FSMB, with FSMB’s own fee.
When do interviews typically start? Programs can begin reviewing applications on September 23, 2026. Interview invitations typically follow within weeks of that date, though exact timing varies by program and specialty.
