5 Top Tips for ERAS

Step 1: Login to ERAS. Step 2: Upload a cute photo. Step 3: Logout because that is enough for one day.

We're kidding, sort of. But, when you do decide to re-login into ERAS, there are some things to consider before mindlessly entering descriptions. Luckily, we have spent ample time with medical students figuring out how to navigate the system and optimize your application.

Below are our 6 top tips for ERAS, happy reading!

1. Pay attention to word count.

As we have covered in another post, you have to pay special attention to how many words you are adding to your personal statements, noteworthy characteristics, and experiences. ERAS counts every letter, space, and type of punctuation—every detail is important.

Especially for personal statements, ERAS will shift your statement into 2 pages if it is over the character allotment per page. To bypass this fickle formatting, you may need change your adjectives, remove unnecessary details, or even change “mother” to “mom”.

My recommendation is to first write your sentences with as many words as you need to clearly present the whole idea, then condense your sentences to fit the word count and modify word choice accordingly.

2. Your hobbies and interests actually matter, so make it good.

With the new overhaul of ERAS for the 2024 cycle, we have been met with the challenge to fit in hobbies and interests without a specific box. We have seen many applicants replace one of their 10 experiences with a hobby with fun activities such as making Charcuterie Boards, YouTube Vlogs, and even a collection of multiple hobbies.

Therefore, do not waste characters on something boring and generic, instead structure it in an engaging way (e.g., fun sentences, a small paragraph, or informal bullet points that show your personality).

We recommend writing something in this section that you have not or will not discuss anywhere else in your application. Your hobbies and interests describe who you are and can help the reader picture how you can fit in with other residents in the program.

Keep it brief, keep it true.

3. Watch your spelling on simple entries.

In the words of our Founder: "The idea of a world without spellcheck is bleak." Well, ERAS happens to manifest that very nightmare and will let you make fool of yourself in no time.

Unfortunately, we have seen “Form Lauderdale”, “Texass”, and the occasional “Collage of Medicine”.

Not pretty.

These simple spelling errors cheapen the quality of your application, so we advise you to write your answers in Word or Google Docs, and transfer them to ERAS once proofread.

4. You don’t need to fill in every box.

Seems wrong, right?

But, this is mostly in relation to your experiences section, specifically the entries asking for zip codes and the focus areas. These boxes are optional and will not break your application.

Our rule of thumb: If you have to really stretch to find the information, it is better off being blank because your estimation is probably more guess-work than truth.

5. Be consistent with formatting across sections.

While this point may seem sickeningly obvious to some, for others it is not. There is no “right way” to fill out ERAS, but there are wrong ways—yikes. Those wrong ways immediately begin with inconsistencies.

Your information will always be your information, and no matter how much help you receive, your actual experiences will remain unchanged. What does change about your experiences and information is how you format and present them to the reader. This is in the punctuation, word choice, verb tense, and overall structure.

No matter how you choose to structure your experiences in ERAS, you need to use the same structure for each and every point.

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In no time, you will began fielding emails concerning LORs, MSPE, USMLE, COMLEX, and other supporting documents. It is best to have your ERAS experiences (i.e., your CV) current and polished, and so you can evaluate if you need to seek out supplemental opportunities to put your application over the top.

Don’t worry if this seems overwhelming right now, we am here to help you with each step of this process and have the necessary tools to guide you in the right direction.

Use this link to schedule an appointment and we can start preparing your information for a seamless integration into ERAS.