ERAS ESSENTIALS:
A Guide to Navigating the Residency Application Program
(Courtesy of your friendly University of Washington AOA Chapter)
Introduction
This handout is intended to be a guide to help you get started with your ERAS application. ERAS is the electronic application used by the majority of residency programs (major exceptions include ophthalmology and neurosurgery). Much like the old paper applications, ERAS asks you to provide biographical information about where you live, where you attended college, where you have been employed, what extracurricular activities you have pursued, and any research you have done. All of this information is entered into the online ERAS program and stored until you choose to submit your application. A personal statement and USMLE scores are also entered online. Letters of recommendation are scanned into the ERAS program by Trudy Furberry in A-300, so hard copies of these documents must be submitted by your letter writers to A-300. Details on the ERAS application process will be provided by Trudy. Below is an outline to provide a quick reference for you.
Getting Started
The ERAS application is completed entirely online. To access ERAS (beginning July 1) you will need an entry number (your ERAS electronic token, distributed via email) from Trudy Furberry the last week in June. After registering you will receive an AAMC ID and create your own password to log on to the ERAS website and begin working on your application. It is a good idea to log on early and become familiar with the application program. After you have logged onto the website, completing the application is fairly straightforward. You may log in and out and change your application as frequently as you wish until you officially submit it.
My Profile
My Profile is the section of ERAS that creates your “face sheet” containing important contact information. It can (and should) be updated at anytime during the application process, even as late as February. Any time you make changes, ERAS automatically sends an updated profile to the programs you have selected.
Common Application Form (CAF)
The CAF is the heart of your application and includes everything you have done in medical school and beyond and where you have done it. On the ERAS website it is the section entitled My Application. Writing a resume before completing your CAF is a useful way to think about and organize everything you have accomplished. Plus, letter writers often ask for your CV so you will probably need a resume anyway. Once you have completed the CAF and proofread it several times you can certify and submit your application to the ERAS server where it will be available for any programs you choose to download. Be forewarned, you may not make changes to your CAF once you have certified it no matter how glaring a spelling mistake you have made! You may submit your application starting September 1 and no later than November 1. Generally, the earlier you submit your application the better, but check with your advisor about what’s best for your specialty. See link above for a sample CAS.
Personal Statement
Few things are as painful as writing a personal statement. Keep it to one page. Talk to your advisor, and maybe buy or borrow a book for help in slanting it towards the type of statement people in your field like to read. Get input from everyone who knows you. You will want to have at least a good rough draft done a few weeks before you submit your application, so that you can give a copy to your letter writers. Ask someone in the field, preferable someone critical, to read it and tell you if it is meeting the goals. Then have your mom, significant other, or best friend read it and make sure it sounds true to you. The ERAS website has instructions on how to best copy documents into the Personal Statement section of the My Documents section; it is just a bit more than a simple click and paste from a Word document.
Letters of Recommendation
Ask for letters early in your fourth year. Remember they have to be in to A-300 by November 1, so give your letter writer’s plenty of time. If you want to ask people sooner (i.e. during a third year clerkship), ask if they are willing to write a letter when the time comes, and then remind them during the summer of fourth year. Also, most programs would like a letter from your department chair, regardless if you know them or not. They are familiar with this process, just make an appointment with them. Here are the steps for getting letters:
- Compile a CV of some sort (ERAS version is fine) and personal statement if you can.
- Download and print cover sheets for each letter writer from the ERAS website (“LOR cover sheet”).
- Enter your letter-writer’s names into the Letters of Recommendation section in the My Documents section, so Trudy will have a place to put them when they arrive.
- Some writers might want to talk to you in person prior to writing a letter, especially the department chair. Make an appointment, give them your CV, personal statement, cover sheet, and a stamped envelope addressed to Trudy Furberry, ERAS Program, Box 356340, 1959 NE Pacific Street, A-300 Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-6340; Phone: (206) 543-5560, FAX: (206) 616-3341, Email: trudyf@u.washington.edu.
- Some faculty will want to review your academic file. To release it to them, go to A-300 and complete the “Student File Release Form”, and they can then request it later.
- The writers will mail letters to the Dean’s office, who will then scan them into the ERAS system. They will appear in the Letters of Recommendation section of the My Documents section as LOR1, LOR2, etc. (depending on how you entered their names), and you can assign them individually to your various programs when you apply to them. Please advise Trudy immediately if you are applying to more than one specialty for special instructions related to the handling of your letters of recommendation.
- Like magic, they will fly through cyberspace to the correct programs. If you have submitted your applications before the letters arrive, they will catch up automatically. Individual program websites typically have information about how many letters you should submit and who they should be from. It is usually a good idea to have the following types of letters available: one from your department chair, one to two from people in the field, and at least one from a different field. The usual number of letters requested is three, ranges from two-four.
USMLE
Board scores will be sent online directly to the residency programs you have identified on your ERAS application by the USMLE at your request. ERAS allows you to request your scores from their online program by entering your USMLE identification number. That number can be found on your board score sheet. The number is also in your academic file, Section 3, in A-300 if you have misplaced your board scores. Because UWSOM requires that you take Step 2 in the fall of your fourth year, both scores will be part of your application. ERAS gives you the option of manually or automatically having Step 2 included in your application after you have taken the exam.
Transcripts
Transcripts for ERAS use only can be obtained electronically by Trudy Furberry from Schmitz Hall for scanning into ERAS. You do not need to do anything unless you attended the University of Washington (UW) as an undergraduate AND do not want your undergraduate grades submitted with your application. In that case, you will need to request a transcript from Schmitz Hall that only has your medical school grades and give it to Trudy. If the programs you are applying to require an undergraduate transcript and you did not attend UW as an undergraduate, you will need to request that an official transcript be sent to A-300 from your alma mater. Please contact Trudy via email (trudyf@u.washington.edu) if you will be sending undergrad or UW medical school only transcripts so she will know to include those in your ERAS file.
Selecting Programs
Deciding which programs to apply to is best accomplished by talking with your advisor, other faculty in the field, and residents. They will help you decide how many programs to apply to, which programs are worth checking out, and how competitive you may be for certain places. Have a rough list ready early on in the application process, so you can ask a lot of different people. To obtain basic info on specific programs, use the FREIDA website, individual program websites, or your specialty may maintain its own database of programs. In the My Programs section on ERAS, you can select programs, assign documents to them, and then apply to them.
Questions regarding the ERAS process should be directed to our ERAS coordinator, Trudy Furberry at trudyf@u.washington.edu, 206-543-5560.