After three years of arduous studying, exams and clinical rotations, you’re finally in the home stretch of your undergraduate medical training. As you apply to residency programs, keep these tips and tasks top of mind to reduce your stress, stay on top of deadlines and keep your professional options open.
Residency-application timeline
June: Get your token for the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
ERAS—a service that transmits students’ residency program applications and key information from their designated dean's offices to program directors—will become a very familiar part of your life as a fourth-year student. Take time early in your application process to ensure that you can register at MyERAS, the service’s application system for students. At this stage:
- Be sure to request a token early in the process to avoid any delays in starting your application. Each medical school’s designated dean’s office establishes its own procedures for distributing ERAS tokens, so be sure to contact your designated dean’s office for information on tokens. Your token will be a one-time access code used to register on MyERAS.
- Once you receive a token, register for any early match programs that interest you.
- Review the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP’s) Match calendars page for details of important dates for residency applicants.
July–August: Prepare your supplemental application materials
Take this time to finalize letters of recommendation and provide each letter's author their letter-request form. If you are interested in military residency positions, you can also apply for them at this time.
To learn more about letters of recommendation:
- Review this presentation from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which provides a helpful overview of the letter of recommendation process on ERAS, how to properly request a letter, and the unique roles medical schools and students play in this process.
- Learn how to find the best people to write residency letters of recommendation.
For advice on how to successfully complete your MyERAS profile and application:
- Read advice from residents on coordinating away rotations and how to use them to effectively boost your application for residency.
- Review the AAMC’s tools for residency applicants, which features guides and worksheets to help students successfully complete their MyERAS applications.
September: Select and apply to programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
Also register for the NRMP Match, which is the main matching service program directors use to rank and select residency program applicants. Students interested in the couples match or the SF Match —an independent, earlier match primarily used for ophthalmology and some fellowships—can apply for programs at this time.
Flag the following key resources to learn more about the Match and selecting programs for residency.
For starters, it’s hard to select a good residency program if you don’t know how to find it, so conduct an effective search for residency programs by visiting FREIDA Online™—the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database®—which features listings for more than 13,000 medical residency and fellowship programs.
Medical students using FREIDA can find information about training programs, key application deadlines and specialty training statistics, which provide a helpful overview of residency programs based on trends across all programs in a specialty. Review these four search hacks, FREIDA’s FAQs and the registration page to make the most of searching for and selecting programs for residency.
In addition:
- Check out how to assess physician residency program fit before applying.
- Get program director insights on a realistic approach to both choosing a specialty and which programs to apply to.
- Pick up what to know if you’re applying to more than one specialty and get to know the do's and don'ts of dual applying.
- Follow these four tips for residency applicants to wisely use program signals.
Also get to know what it’s like in these specific situations:
- Learn what it’s like to navigate the Match as a couple, including key tips from students who have experienced the process.
- Keep in mind what to say about work products that have been submitted to peer-reviewed entities.
October–January: Schedule and travel to interviews
Now that you have selected and applied to programs, use your interviews to carefully assess which residency programs best fit your preferences for training and lifestyle. But first, get to know some top-level tips for thriving in this professional pressure cooker.
Students in the military Match will receive results in December. If you participated in other early match programs—such as those for the SF Match, urology or ophthalmology—you will likely receive Match results in January.
For students still ranking their residency programs, be sure to:
- Reference websites for deadlines to submit rank order lists and review these resources from the AAMC for tips on how to strategically rank your residency programs.
- Keep these top questions to ask handy as you begin your residency program interviews. Asking the right questions can help you determine whether a program is the right fit and whether how you’d like to rank them in the Match.
- Understand how residency programs rank you.
March: NRMP Main Residency Match results are announced
The much-anticipated Match Week will soon arrive—and you’ll likely learn your results during a special celebration at your medical school.
Check out the AMA guide to Match Day and Match Week. It includes links to stories with details of Match statistics, how to deal with disappointment and what to do if you don’t match.
Short videos get you up to speed
FREIDA has a video, “The Road to Residency Made Simple,” that concisely—in just four minutes—summarizes the residency application, interview and Match process, including what it will cost. A related resource, the FREIDA Road to Residency Guide, free to AMA members, explores key terms, reviews important milestones and provides a downloadable FREIDA residency-and-application checklist and timeline.
An episode of the “AMA Moving Medicine” podcast has tips on how to prepare for and ace virtual residency interviews. Learn from a resident about her application and interview experience.
Sleep easy with answers to FAQs
The Match process is complex, even for people who have gone through it many times—as applicants or program directors or both.
Should I base the number of residency programs I apply to on the average numbers reported for my specialty?
Average numbers don’t make good individualized advice. First, understand that strong applicants might apply to fewer programs, and weaker applicants might apply to more.
How should I decide how many applications to submit?
Apply based on your competitiveness and the demand for various specialties. Also, check out the data on how many residency programs medical students really apply to.
Does my behavior on social media matter during the residency application process?
One’s social media activity can certainly be an asset during the residency-application process, but unprofessional social media can also sink your chances of getting the residency interviews you’re hoping for. As a rule, don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mother or your spouse to see.
The AMA has published a wealth of information on the residency application and Match process. If you’re still not sure where to start, look first at this guide to applying for residency programs.
