If you’re a medical student in the process of applying for residency positions, you’re probably discovering that the costs associated with applications, interviews and fees are adding up. Here are some ways you can manage those costs.
Budget for the application costs
The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) sends applications, letters of recommendation, transcripts and other credentials to the programs you are interested in. ERAS fees vary by how many applications you submit, but they quickly can reach into the hundreds of dollars.
Don’t forget the additional fees
It costs $75 to send your USMLE transcript to residency programs. You’ll also need to pay the National Resident Matching Program fee to participate in the Match at a cost of $60 for the first 20 programs to which you apply.
Mitigate interview costs
Travel, lodging and incidental costs related to interviews will be a huge chunk of your residency application costs. Think about how to take frugal shortcuts.
For example, Jason Hall, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, said he started accumulating frequent flier miles well in advance and scheduled his residency interviews back-to-back in specific locations. Hall is interviewing for anesthesia residencies.
“I knew because of the field I’m going into that no [program] would be paying for my flights or hotel rooms, and I knew it was going to be expensive,” Hall said. “The only thing I can attempt to control is to schedule as few trips as possible. I have three interviews back-to-back in New York, and I’m on the waitlist for a fourth interview to avoid a second trip.”
You might also consider working through your medical school or undergraduate school’s alumni office or social networking groups to see whether any alumni who live in the area would be able to host you, instead of paying for a hotel.
Get more ideas on how to keep interview costs down at the Association of American Medical Colleges website.
Try not to rely on credit cards
Robert Yermish, financial advisor in Philadelphia who works with AMA Insurance as a member of their Physicians Financial Partners program, frequently works with residents and young physicians. He said it’s difficult to budget for the fourth year of medical school and the uncertainty it can bring, but students shouldn’t rush to charge everything to credit cards. If you are going to incur more debt, it should be smart debt—and credit cards often have much higher interest than medical school loans.
“The right answer is that you stop the credit cards, because a lot of people end up trying to use credit cards as a tool to get through medical school or residency,” Yermish said. “Which form of debt would I prefer? I’d rather see it from a med loan than a Visa.”
How are you managing your money? Tell us in a comment below at AMA Wire®, or post your thoughts on the AMA Medical Student Section Facebook page.
