Blog Archives

Formal Attire Required

In crafting your AMCAS or ERAS activity descriptors, make sure you write formally. By that I mean write in full sentences and avoid contractions and colloquialisms. The AMCAS and ERAS are important documents that deserve respect!

Also, ensure your descriptors – without going over the character limit – can stand alone from the activity title in case the reader skims through the latter. In other words, assume the reader has not read the organization and title before your prose.

Contact me for editing help.



Application Support for IMGs

Starting July 1 IMG residency applicants can reach ERAS Support Services through extended hours Monday through Thursday 8a-6p EST and Friday 8a-5p at 215-966-3520. Remember too that applicants can get some questions answered by e-mail at eras-support@ecfmg.org. I’ve emailed the ERAS Support Services before, and they respond relatively quickly. If they don’t have your answers, they’ll point you in the right direction.

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That Foreigner Song

As soon as June 1 hits, I have a multitude of medical school candidates panicking about the urgency of their application submissions. Plan ahead! Good writing takes a long time.

Even if you have a super-fast editor like me on your side :), you should expect that you will revise your materials multiple times and that each revision will take you many days or weeks.

Residency applicants: Take note. Start working on your written materials now, as some of my organized clients have already done.

“You say it’s urgent
Make it fast, make it urgent
Do it quick, do it urgent
Gotta rush, make it urgent
Want it quick
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
Urgent, urgent, emergency
So urgent, emergency
Emer… emer… emer…
It’s urgent”

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Brevity Is the Soul of Wit

Here’s a NYT op-ed piece about learning to write concisely, an important skill in the admissions process.



What Would Your Mother Say?

I had a sweet client recently tell me that, although she will feel uncomfortable showcasing her accomplishments throughout her upcoming application process, she thinks her mom might be able to help her learn to speak about them fluidly.

If you have a supportive mother (father, grandparent), and you are having trouble highlighting your achievements in your personal statement, application, interview, even letter of intent, consider channeling your inner mother.

Remember: You must distinguish yourself from the other competitive candidates, and the best way to do that is with explicit examples of your accomplishments.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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