Navigating the ERAS Application: Tips & To-Do’s

Applying to residency is one of the most exciting and pivotal steps in your medical journey. For most U.S. medical students, the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) is the mechanism through which you will tell your story, showcase your qualifications, and secure those all-important interviews and ultimately a spot in residency.

As advisors who have coached many applicants through this process (and gone through it ourselves!), we have seen the pitfalls, the winning strategies, and the subtle details that can make a surprising difference. Below, we will walk you through a structured, practical guide to navigating the ERAS application — what to do, what to avoid, and how to present yourself in the best way possible.

Understanding ERAS: The Big Picture

ERAS is not just a form— it is a digital portfolio that programs will use to decide whether to invite you for an interview. There is a lot of information that goes into it, but, in large, it contains a few key components:

• Personal Information (demographics, education, etc.)
• Work, Research, and Volunteer Experiences
• Honors and Awards
• Personal Statement
• Letters of Recommendation (LORs)
• MSPE (Dean’s Letter) – automatically uploaded by your school
• Transcripts and Exam Scores

Residency programs are flooded with applications (think thousands). As a result, there is no way for them to read each application with a magnifying glass. As a result, your job is to make your application clear, concise, authentic, and compelling. Think of it less as a bureaucratic hurdle and more as your professional introduction. You want to be thorough but efficient and represent your true self.

Timeline: Start Early, Stay Organized

The ERAS process unfolds over months, and missing a deadline can cost you interviews and a spot in residency. Here is a simplified timeline to keep in mind:

• Spring of MS3 (February – April): Start brainstorming personal statement themes, approach your LOR writers, ensure that you have a plan to complete your USMLE/COMLEX examinations before your submit your application.
• Summer before MS4 (May – July): Continue working on your personal statement, update your CV, being entering your experiences into ERAS, start thinking about the programs you will apply to
• August/September: Finalize ERAS application, upload LORs, certify and submit well before the deadline.
• Mid to late September: ERAS opens for program directors.
• October–January: Interview season.
• February: Rank lists due.
• March: Match day!

High Yield Tip: Do NOT wait until September to write your personal statement or enter experiences. Your future self will thank you if you start early.

The Personal Statement: Do’s and Don’ts

Your personal statement is one of the few places you control the narrative. It is not about rehashing your CV (please do not do this). Rather, it is about explaining who you are, why you want this specialty, and what you will bring to a residency program. We have dedicated blog on the personal statement you can find here if you want more specific information.

Do’s

• Be authentic: Share a story or experience that tells them about who you are and ultimately why you want this specific specialty. Authenticity resonates more than clichés.
• Keep it concise: 650–850 words is the sweet spot. Aim for one page, single spaced. As mentioned before, programs have no choice but to skim your application on the first pass, so clarity matters.
• Show—not tell: Instead of saying “I am compassionate,” describe an encounter where your compassion made a difference. Actions are much more compelling that generic statements,.
• Highlight fit: Emphasize traits that align with the specialty (precision for surgery, adaptability for EM, longitudinal care for family medicine). You should not be blunt about this; rather, tell stories that highlight your characteristics and makes you seem like a natural fit for this specialty.
• End with forward vision: Briefly mention your career goals—whether academic, community-based, or subspecialty interests. It is also OK to mention other personal goals in this section as well.

Don’ts

• Avoid generic openings: For example, “I’ve always wanted to help people” will not stand out. You want a hook that grabs the reader and makes them want to move on to the next sentence. This is one of the most critical components of the personal statement.
• Do not rehash your CV: They will see your research, grades, activities, and awards elsewhere. Use the personal statement to highlight things that are NOT on your CV.
• Skip the humor: What seems clever may fall flat. Professionalism first. What you may find funny, others may not!
• Do not make it about prestige: Saying you want a specialty because it’s “competitive” is a red flag. Be humble but confident, this balance can be challenging to achieve.

High Yield Tip: Draft multiple versions and then share these drafts with mentors, tutors, and trusted peers (especially people NOT in medicine) for feedback. The best statements often emerge after trimming excess details and sharpening focus to make it approachable. The reader should finish your personal statement feeling like they know who you are.

Letters of Recommendation: Choose Wisely

Strong letters can tip the scales, especially in competitive fields. Programs value letters that provide genuine insight into your clinical ability and professionalism. Additionally, whether we like it or not, physicians who are “known” in the field can provide a stamp of approval to program directors if they write a strong letter.

Who to Ask

• Specialty physicians: At least one (often two) letters should be from attendings in your chosen specialty.
• Department chair letter: Required by some specialties (e.g., internal medicine). Often, this is a generic letter from your chair that incorporates clinical comments from your attendings, fellows, and residents. This letter is standard.
• Longitudinal mentors: A mentor who knows you well—even outside your specialty—can add depth. Think someone in research or an activity.

When to Ask

• Right after a strong rotation: Strike while the impression is fresh. Even if you are not going to need the letter for multiple months, ask EARLY. Then, stay in touch with them so they do not forget who you are. Jot down specific situations that you shared together that highlight your strengths as an applicant.
• By late spring of MS3: This gives your writers time and avoids the summer scramble. You will often need to remind them to get the letter in!

How to Ask

• Provide your CV and a short sheet or email with personalized bullet points to that letter writer (key patient encounters, leadership roles, research).
• Tell them about your specific career goals.
• If there are specific aspects of your CV that you want them to highlight, tell them!
• Be explicit about deadlines and instructions for ERAS submission.

High Yield Tip: Letters carry more weight when they describe specific strengths (“She independently managed a complex diabetic patient with confidence”) rather than generic praise (“He is hardworking and smart”). Help your letter writer as much as possible – give them specific examples and make their job as easy as can be.

Experiences and Activities: Quality Over Quantity

The ERAS application allows up to 10 “experiences” and highlights three as “most meaningful.” You will fill out general information about each experience, as well as provide a few sentences about each experience.

Do’s

• Be selective: Choose experiences that showcase leadership, resilience, or commitment to medicine. Longitudinal experiences are more meaningful than sporadic activities.
• Highlight impact: Quantify your accomplishments when possible (e.g., “Created a patient education series that reached 200+ families”).
• Reflect meaning: Programs care less about what you did and more about what you learned and how you grew.
• Balance clinical and non-clinical: Research, volunteerism, teaching, hobbies/activities —all add dimension.

Don’ts

• Avoid padding: Listing trivial roles or one-off events can dilute your narrative and make it seem like you are filling space on your application with “fluff”.
• Don’t exaggerate: Integrity matters. Assume every detail could be asked about in interviews or fact checked by the program.

High Yield Tip: For your “most meaningful” entries, write mini personal statements. Reflect on how those experiences shaped your goals and values. The most meaningful section should not be used to further expand upon the objective information about the activity. For example, do not write about how many patients you treated a clinic; rather, talk about what you gained from this experience and how it shaped your career goals.

Common ERAS Pitfalls to Avoid

• Typos and formatting errors: Proofread obsessively. Have many other people you’re your application top to bottom for grammar and typos. Sloppiness reflects poorly.
• Not tailoring to specialty: Programs notice when your personal statement and letters do not align with the applied specialty. This is especially important for students applying to more than one specialty, you will likely need to write more than one personal statement and have different LOR writers for each specialty.
• Submitting late: Programs review applications on a rolling basis. However, many program directors will download all applications the minute they have access to the portal and not look back after they do so. So, hypothetically, if you submit late, a program may never see your application. Early submission maximizes interview invites.
• Neglecting parallel planning: Applying broadly (e.g., adding a backup specialty) requires additional preparation so please start early!

Special Considerations for Different Applicants

For DO Applicants

• Although we are past the merger of the AOA and ACGME, some programs still harbor bias toward USMLE scores. If you have taken both COMLEX and USMLE, report both. If you have not, this will hopefully no longer be an issue in the future; however, highlight strong clinical skills, evaluations, and letters.

For International Medical Graduates (IMGs)

• Letters from U.S. physicians and activities completed in the U.S. carry more weight. Aim for at least one of each if possible (we know this can be challenging).
• A strong, polished personal statement is especially critical to convey communication skills.

For Couples Matching

• Mention couples match briefly in your personal statement or supplemental application, but focus primarily on your strengths.

For Red Flags (e.g., failed exam, unanticipated gap years)

• Address them briefly, professionally, and with growth mindset. Own the issue, show what you learned, and talk about how this setback has made you a better physician.

Interviews: Extending Your Application

Remember, ERAS gets you the interview — but then you need to get the residency spot. How you frame your story in the application sets up those conversations that come later during the interview. If you emphasize leadership in your personal statement, expect to discuss it in interviews. Talk about the things which make you, you as this will provide them the most honest application, but also make your interview that much easier!

Final Checklist Before Submission

• Personal statement polished and proofread.
• Experiences entered, with three “most meaningful” written thoughtfully.
• Letters of recommendation requested and uploaded (make sure to confirm with your letter writers that they have uploaded, and you can see it uploaded in ERAS).
• Transcripts and exam scores verified.
• CV reviewed for accuracy.
• Application proofread by at least one mentor or tutor.
• Submitted well before (not on or after) the due date.

Closing Thoughts

The ERAS application is at face value challenge, but try and view it as an opportunity. It forces you to take stock of and reflect on your journey and articulate where you are headed. Done thoughtfully, it does not just “check boxes”—it helps you clarify your own personal and professional identity.

As tutors, we always remind students: programs are not looking for perfection; they are looking for genuine, capable colleagues. You will still be seen as a trainee, but many of the attendings and fellows you work with will begin to see you as a colleague. This is a big step up! They want someone who will, above all, be a great clinician, but also someone they want to work with. Present your authentic self, emphasize growth, and align your story with your chosen specialty.

Approach ERAS with organization, humility, and confidence, and you will maximize your chances of landing the interviews—and ultimately, the residency—that is right for you.