Welcome to ERAS

So if you can't read the fine print here to the left, you should at least be able to appreciate that applying to residency programs is a little bit of a hot mess. The "match" itself is completely unnerving. Over the next few months I will apply to dozens of programs, hope to interview at about 10 to 12, and then "rank" these programs in order of my preference. Students all across the country will do the same, and then on March 21st, a computer will spit out where each of us will end up. I could match at my number one choice, my fifth, my last, or not at all.

Cray, right?

Alright, so here's how it all breaks down. The application itself is all through a single website (thank goodness), affectionately known as "ERAS." This is where you upload your CV, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. In addition, the medical schools will submit transcripts and their "Dean's Letter," which summarizes your schooling and explains the grading system. It also recommends the student as "outstanding," "excellent," "very good," "good," or some other modifier (there is no "bad" med student; that would hurt our feelings too much). Students are supposed to have everything ready by September 15th, and on that morning, we can click (and pay lots of money for) all the programs to which we want to apply. Residency programs can then begin downloading applications and sending out interviews.

On October 1st, our Dean's Letter is released to the schools. Apparently (and I'm not sure if I'm right about this), a lot of programs wait until October to send out invitations, once they've skimmed the Dean's Letter. Invitations go out, and students schedule interviews as fast as possible. This can be a bit of a cluster, because sometimes programs offer more invitations than actual spots (one of my close friends last year got an email from a program at 3am; she responded at 7am when she woke up, and all the spots were filled...). November, December, and January will be a great opportunity to accrue Delta SkyMiles.

Interviews are scheduled, and then we hit the "trail." Quickly, we start seeing a lot of familiar faces, as the same people keep popping up at all the same interviews. Other recruits are a great source of information, and many students bond on the trail (some even find true love, I hear, which is a little scary). After the trail, programs will have a "second-look" day for students who are interested. Before we know it, it's mid-February, and it's time to rank programs.

Skip to the Monday before the match. All applicants get an email letting them know if they have matched or not. If they've matched, it does not tell them where. This allows students who haven't matched to "scramble" into programs with empty spots. I don't know how this works, and I pray I don't have to find out. So that is all I will say about that.

On March 21st, we find out where we'll learn to become a real doctor. And it could be anywhere.

Everyone who's been through the process says, "Have fun! Enjoy it! It's just as much about you interviewing them as them interviewing you." Fiddlesticks. Actually, the interviewing could be fun; it's the scheduling that will drive me nuts. I don't want to be up at 3am every day to make sure I don't miss an opportunity at one of my top choices. And I don't want to spend all the money I'm going to have to spend. I just keep telling myself it will all be worth it...

I will update y'all on the process as it moves forward!