There are lots of steps and moving parts involved with applying to residency. In order to stay on top of things, in this post we will provide an overview of all the various steps involved in applying to residency, from preparing your application all the way until Match day!
In the later half of third year, many students have already chosen a specialty. For many specialties, away rotations are an integral part of the application season. Typically, away rotation applications open up anytime between early and mid-April. There can be a lot of applications to fill out, and you need to make sure you have your vaccinations and other administrative paperwork ready to go as well. Typically, students should start to think about away applications around March of their third year to ensure they are prepared to submit applications.
This is also a good time to update your CV, which will come in handy both for your away application and when it comes time to fill out your ERAS application in a few short months. The majority of away applications are done through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) application through the AAMC. At this time, you should also start thinking about your fourth year schedule, including scheduling aways, step 2 (if you have not already taken it), and vacation months or more relaxed rotations for interviewing.
The official ERAS submission date is in September, but please do not wait until the last minute to get started. You should spend the summer meeting with all of your mentors so that you may begin requesting letters of recommendation, discussing programs that might be a good fit, and having some mock interviews if possible. This would also be a good time to start brainstorming what you would like to include in your personal statement, and get an initial draft of your essay together. For more information on the residency personal statement, you can check out our blog post specifically on that topic here! At some point, you will also have a meeting with your deans about your Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) and dean’s letter that will also go on your ERAS application.
September when the long awaited “ERAS day” occurs. The exact dates may vary year to year; however, in 2024, the first day you can submit your ERAS application is September 4th. Then, ERAS will open up to programs on September 25th, 2024 at 9am Eastern time. This means that you can submit your application anytime between September 4th and September 25th before 9am, and programs receive all of those applications at the same time. Meaning that, there is no benefit in submitting your application on September 1st vs September 20th since programs are not able to download any applications until the 25th. That being said, do not wait until 5 minutes before ERAS opens up to submit your application. Try to submit it at least a few days beforehand, so that you do not have to worry about any last minute site crashes or technological hiccups. Remember there are thousands of people also trying to get in their ERAS on time, so do not leave it until the very last minute. Often programs will only download all the applications they received once, so this deadline is a critical one to be aware of since programs will likely not go back for a re-download.
Check the AAMC website for your relevant application year to determine the most updated yearly submission dates. Also, at this time, make sure to sign up for the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) this month. NRMP is a separate registration and system from ERAS, but you will need to include your NRMP identification number for ranking and your ERAS application.
After ERAS submission, then it is time for interviews! Different specialties vary on when the majority of their interviews occur. For example, internal medicine and anesthesia tend to get their interviews in full swing within weeks after the ERAS submission date, while dermatology and plastic surgery programs do not even send out their interview invitations until months after the ERAS submission date and interview mostly in January and February. Interviews can last until late-February of the application season.
As you are interviewing, programs can start to run together after a while, especially when interviewing virtually. Create a spreadsheet and document each program as well as notes on program characteristics that are important for you, pros, and cons. This will certainly come in handy when it is time to create your rank order list and decide what program you will want to rank first.
Urology, ophthalmology, and the military match occur separately and earlier than the main residency match. For these specific fields, application deadlines, interviews, and the Match occurs early. The military match usually takes place in December, while the urology and ophthalmology matches occur in February.
After you have completed your interviews, it is time to submit your rank order list to the NRMP for the Match. We will have a more in depth post about what all to consider in making this rank order list, but at this time you should also consider sending a letter of intent to your top program. Remember, you can only submit one letter of intent to the program you are ranking first in NRMP. After you have decided on your rankings, make sure to certify your list prior to the deadline in the system.
You can still go back and make changes to your list after you have certified, if it is prior to the rank order list due date. If you do go back and make changes, you need to ensure that you certify again when you are done. Generally, last minute changes, impulsive are never good and you should try to think through your list early on, in a systematic way to avoid any last minute switches.
Match week! On the Monday of Match week, you will receive an email in the morning telling you if you are fully matched, partially matched, or if you did not match. Partially matched can mean that you either matched to a one year preliminary position only or an advanced position only. If you matched, congratulations, you will find out on Friday where you will be going! If you did not match, or if you partially matched, you have the option of entering the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program that occurs Monday through the Thursday of Match week. In this case, you will work with faculty from your school to review the list of unfilled programs (only available to unmatched applicants) and try to find a spot for the upcoming year.
If you are at all worried about not matching during the application season, it could be helpful to meet with mentors earlier in the process to flesh out a potential plan B. By discussing it before match week, you can have a plan already set, as match week can be quite emotional and a lot to process in and of itself. Therefore, by already having a plan set in place for next steps, it can relieve some of the stress of major decision making during match week.
Congratulations! Now that you know where you are going, hours to days after the Match you will start getting your contracts as well as lots of on-boarding forms so that you are ready to get started by July 1st. Try and take time to relax before starting your intern year.
For further information, please see the links below to find updated deadlines and how to register below:
