When to Apply?

Applications for residency positions are sent via Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS(r)). ERAS office starts transmitting your applications to the programs on September 2nd every year. Therefore, the earliest you can apply to any program is September 2nd.

The timeline of important events can be found at relevant web sites. However, here is the pointer that I want to give you.

- If you apply in September, you are applying early and you will get the advantage of early bird.

- If you apply in the first two weeks of October, your application is "in time". You are OK.

- If you apply in late October or worse yet, in November, your application will suffer. You will end up with less interview calls.

Why is that? The programs analyze applications in order of the date of application. If you are a regular candidate but you have applied early, programs will look at your application first and decide there and then whether to give you an interview call. They are more likely to end up calling you because it’s early season and a regular candidate is acceptable.

Now consider the same regular candidate applying in late October. Most of the programs have already called a lot of applicants. There are very few slots left so the programs tend to become more selective. A regular candidate may or may not be acceptable depending upon other options available to the program.

Now the question arises "I will only have my Step 1 score in September… Should I still apply? Will I suffer if I do not have my Step 2 score?” The answer to both the questions is yes.

Let’s go through it step by step.

- Ideally, you should have both Step 1 and Step 2 scores and passed the CS by the time you send in an application. That will give you the maximum advantage. However, that means studying hard and fast, going to US just for the sake of CS and getting it all done and over with before September. Thank God, we do not live in an ideal world so we can get away with less.

- The minimum you need to apply for residency programs is a Step 1 score. That's the bare minimum and most international applicants do that. It is acceptable. In fact, if a program likes your application but requires your Step 2 scores before they grant you an interview, they will wait for you and put your application on hold till than. They will make their final decision whether to call you for an interview or not only after they have received your Step 2 scores.

- The best approach which is both economical and fruitful at the same time is to have Step 1 and 2 scores before application (i.e. September). You take your CS when you go to US for residency interviews. Thus there is only one trip to US and you get the advantage of Step 2 scores as well.

Conclusion: The advantage of early application outweighs the disadvantage of applying without Step 2 scores. Therefore apply early!!!!!!!!

Note: This article has been derived from "Roadmap to Residency" authored by AKU graduates, with permission from few of the authors. Name of the original author, has purposely not been mentioned on request of one of the authors, for privacy reasons. If you are the original author of this article and want your name to be mentioned or wish this article to be modified/ removed from this website, please contact us and we would be more than happy to entertain your request. We fully respect your privacy, acknowledge your efforts put in authoring this article and appreciate your hard work involved in it.