The ERAS Section That Follows You for Your Entire Career
One section of the ERAS application follows you for the rest of your career. Not the essays. Not the signals. The education section. I coach it with more caution than any other.
Why it matters so much
Your medical education dates trigger the years-since-graduation calculation, the number many programs filter on. That date cannot be changed later, so it must be accurate.
And every institution you list, or leave out, gets declared again on every hospital credentialing application, every state license, and every job application, for decades. A discrepancy that starts on ERAS does not stay on ERAS.
The rules for medical education
List every medical school you attended, including any you transferred from.
For a transfer, list the school you left with no degree earned, then the school where you completed your degree.
Country, institution name, degree, degree month and year, and attendance dates must match your ECFMG documents exactly.
The rules for higher education
List every institution after high school, even a community college or a one-year prerequisite program, even if you earned no degree.
Never mark a degree as earned if you did not complete it.
A US MPH, MBA, or MS is a meaningful credential. List it here and reference it in your experiences.
Most non-US graduates will select "None" for US-style higher education categories. That is expected; do not force your education into a box it does not fit.
Your action step today
Spend one honest hour with your ECFMG documents and your ERAS education entries side by side. Check every date, name, and degree. That hour saves years of credentialing problems.
Want every entry cross-checked before you submit? My Trifecta review includes detailed proofreading across your full application. Only 10 spots are available this cycle. Book your Trifecta review.
Want to practice for your residency interview with an expert? Book your interview prep session here.