On Wednesday October 21 your applications will go to the EM Residency Programs you applied to. So we are going to try to answer some common last minute questions that a lot of folks are asking. These are questions where there is no evidence base for answers/recommendations, so what you are getting is one advisors opinion, informed by conversations with other advisors and PD's.
Question 1: How should I describe work, research and volunteer experiences in ERAS - bullets or paragraph?
Either is fine. Applicants are paying more attention than usual to how they complete the ERAS application, probably because they have more time on their hands to craft and perfect these entries. Just make sure you concisely explain what you did and what your role was. This won't affect how programs rate your application.
Question 2: Should I customize my Personal Statement to different regions or even to different programs?
Maybe. In previous years (and posts) I have pretty strongly said "no" - because this is a poor use of time and Program Directors generally felt this comes across as "too desperate" and unnecessarily raises concerns: "what is wrong with this persons application that they think they need to do this". HOWEVER, this year is probably different. You do not have the ability to do Away Rotations to demonstrate interest in a specific region or type of program. You can and should use the "hometown" section of the application to clarify regions you have a connection to. It is also common to include in your Personal Statement a section (usually closing paragraph) that describes what you are looking for in a Residency Program: academically and geographically. And it would also be reasonable to have different versions of this closing paragraph for different geographies or types of programs. This is OPTIONAL. It may not help. It may even hurt you if interpreted as desperation. BUT, if you are concerned that there is no other way to make clear your interest in a region or in a type of program, then this MAY be helpful.
Question 3: Should I hold a spot for a late arriving letter or just fill all four spots with what I have now?
Hold a spot if it is an eSLOE from a residency program. This application season is starting later than in years past but the date of the Match has not changed. Programs are on a compressed timeline to review applications, and offer and complete interviews and rank lists. And we all expect to interview more applicants than we normally do. Programs will look at whatever you have on October 21 as they make INITIAL interview offers. A late arriving letter can still impact your chances of getting a "wait list" interview when someone cancels later in the season. Only an eSLOE from a residency program is a valuable enough addition to your application to move a program from "maybe" to "interview". Other letters, even O-SLOE's, are unlikely to make a difference late in the process.
Question 4: Should I be doing more than 10-12 interviews this year because programs are interviewing more people?
Yes, but not many more. The number of interviews (and ranks on your rank list) needed to reliably match in EM has been steady for many years at 10-12. Even with the number of applications submitted per applicant steadily increasing over the last decade this number has not changed (because the number of residency spots has grown at the same pace as the number of people who are applying). Ranking 10-12 programs gives a 95%+ chance of matching in EM. BUT, that is based on non-pandemic application cycles. This year we anticipate applicants are going to apply to more programs (because they have more available funds with interviews being virtual and less ability to audition) and programs will interview more applicants because they are worried that many of their applicants are not really interested but are just panic-applying. HOWEVER, residency programs are limited in how much they can increase the number of interviews they do. On the program end the virtual interview process takes just as much faculty and coordinator time, AND possibly more time, if you account for the challenges of trouble-shooting virtual interviews. So while an applicant can pretty easily (though not wisely) double the number of applications they send out, the programs will need to make a huge investment of resources just to increase their number of interviews by 20-30%. If you are an applicant without extenuating circumstances, like being in a complicated couples match, you can do 12-15 interviews and be confident in matching. AND for most of you 12-15 is overkill, just like 10-12 was overkill for most applicants over the last decade (1/3 of applicants match to their #1 and more than half match in their top 3).
Question 5: Wait a minute! I should be doubling the number of programs I apply to?!?
NO! That is totally unnecessary. But fear and uncertainty have steadily driven up the number of applications per applicant for the last decade. And this year has produced an abundance of fear and uncertainty. As an applicant your chances of matching are exactly the same as they have been in the past. The proportion of available EM residency spots to applicants who want them (spots/applicants) has not changed. Because you can't go to most of the programs you will eventually rank the most important thing to do this year is research programs throughout the process. Hopefully you have been doing this already. You want to make good use of your interview time so choose places to apply that you are actually interested in and have already vetted for matching what you are looking for. A plan of "apply to a ton, see where you get interviews, and then learn about the programs on interview day" is going to work even more poorly than usual this year. Programs are going to be looking to interview applicants who are obvious fits for their program: geographically and academically. A smart application is one where most of the programs on your "core list" (the 20-30 realistic programs, NOT the longshots) make sense for you. Your geographic ties are clear: connection from med school, college, work/life spent there, or explained in PS. AND your academic profile (degree, scores, specialty interests like US, wild med, research, etc.) match what they advertise they are looking for.
I bet these questions generate even MORE questions. We will try to respond quickly to anything you put in the comments section, so fire away!
