ERAS Support Services at ECFMG to Start Live Chat Option

I have found the ERAS support services at ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) to be very helpful. The representatives respond to my questions quickly via email. On September 1 ERAS support services at ECFMG is launching a live chat option to answer questions about ERAS.

Representatives will be available to live chat M-F 8a-5p EST. You will be able to access the Live Chat service here. Starting September 1, you will find a link to the Live Chat service on every associated web page.

Decision Fatigue

This recent NYC article ("Do you Suffer from Decision Fatigue?") is really interesting, especially when you think how decision fatigue might affect your medical school or residency application. It's worth having the insight this article provides as you make decisions that will affect your future (where to apply, where to send secondaries, where to interview, how you make your match list or decide what school to accept).

Being Repetitive… Again and Again and Again

In writing their personal statements, many applicants ask me if it’s okay to include their accomplishments. After all, they say, their achievements have already been noted in the application, dean’s letter, and letters of recommendation.

Think of the medical admissions process as an onion. Your application (AMCAS, ERAS, post bacc CV, AADSAS) and letters serve as one layer of that onion, albeit a thin one. In other words, your accomplishments are conveyed simply and succinctly there. The personal statement is your opportunity to apply a thicker layer, one in which you flesh out your achievements, thus persuading the reader of your distinctiveness. Finally, the interview is your chance to add on the thickest peel. Discussing your accomplishments in detail can seal the interviewer’s positive impression of you.

So yes, you are going to be redundant throughout the application process, but each part serves a different and additive purpose. If you do not include your achievements in your personal statement, how will you be viewed as distinctive? Remember: Who you are is what you’ve done... and what traits and skills you’ve gained accordingly.

Applying in Two Specialties

Here are some clarifications about what ERAS offers that will help you apply in two specialties:

1) Different personal statements can be assigned to different programs. This means you can assign your ob/gyn essay to ob/gyn programs and your internal medicine statement to internal medicine residencies.
2) Different letters of recommendation (LORs) can be assigned to different residency programs as well. (A maximum of four letters may be assigned to each program.)
3) You will have only one MyEras application. It will go to all of your programs.

Thus, when you select a program to apply to, you will be able to choose which documents (personal statement, LORs) you would like send to that program. ERAS, in this way, allows you to keep your options open.