Cost of Fellowship Applications

[stop2stop]

Dear all,

Hoping to just get a general sense of how much is needed to put away from fellowship application and interview expenses. Appreciate any insight, thanks

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[the argus]

There are so many variables to this, each person's situation will be different.

1. ERAS costs. How many programs will you apply to?
From ERAS website,
up to 10 ----- $115
11-20 ----- $13 each
21-30 ----- $16 each
31 and up ----- $26 each

Are you a super competitive applicant coming from a top medical school and residency? Maybe ~$200 on 15 applications
Are you a less competitive applicant coming from a caribbean medical school and community residency? Maybe ~$3500 on 150 applications

2. Interview costs. Geographic preferences and how many interviews will you need to match?

Are you that super competitive applicant that lives in NYC and only wants to stay? You'll only be paying for tolls, parking and/or subways.
Are you that less competitive applicant who lives in the midwest but is willing to go anywhere and needs 15 interviews to match? Be prepared to take 10 flights and pay for 15 hotel rooms.

3. NRMP. ~$100.


So as you can see, fellowship season costs will vary widely depending on the applicant and specialty. Some people may need $500, others $10,000.

 

[stop2stop]

There are so many variables to this, each person's situation will be different.

1. ERAS costs. How many programs will you apply to?
From ERAS website,
up to 10 ----- $115
11-20 ----- $13 each
21-30 ----- $16 each
31 and up ----- $26 each

Are you a super competitive applicant coming from a top medical school and residency? Maybe ~$200 on 15 applications
Are you a less competitive applicant coming from a caribbean medical school and community residency? Maybe ~$3500 on 150 applications

2. Interview costs. Geographic preferences and how many interviews will you need to match?

Are you that super competitive applicant that lives in NYC and only wants to stay? You'll only be paying for tolls, parking and/or subways.
Are you that less competitive applicant who lives in the midwest but is willing to go anywhere and needs 15 interviews to match? Be prepared to take 10 flights and pay for 15 hotel rooms.

3. NRMP. ~$100.


So as you can see, fellowship season costs will vary widely depending on the applicant and specialty. Some people may need $500, others $10,000.

Appreciate the post and clarification. I guess let me narrow things down a bit, can really anyone safely apply to 15 programs in cards now? How about if couples matching with someone in a moderately competitive subspecialty, now is it going to be on the order of 100+ regardless? Thanks again.

 

[aafisahar]

I applied to 35 programs, went on 10 interviews with 6 flights. Total cost was ~4000.

 

[cardss2019]

Appreciate the post and clarification. I guess let me narrow things down a bit, can really anyone safely apply to 15 programs in cards now? How about if couples matching with someone in a moderately competitive subspecialty, now is it going to be on the order of 100+ regardless? Thanks again.

Applying to 15 programs is extremely reckless. Minimum should be 30-40 in my opinion. The more the merrier. It’s insane to apply so narrowly after decades of education and sacrifices.

 

[the argus]

Appreciate the post and clarification. I guess let me narrow things down a bit, can really anyone safely apply to 15 programs in cards now? How about if couples matching with someone in a moderately competitive subspecialty, now is it going to be on the order of 100+ regardless? Thanks again.

I actually didn't realized this post was in the cards subforum. I'm going into one of the other top 4 competitive subspecialties, so my experiences don't exactly translate but probably would be similar.

I erred on the side of over-applying. I decided I only wanted to go through this process once, and decided I was ok with potentially wasting some money, which I definitely ended up doing. You can add significant expense at both the ERAS application phase and the interview phase.

It's really hard to give advice without knowing the specific circumstances of you and your SO's applications. This is the main questions you should ask yourselves though,

#Is location or prestige more important to you?
Would you guys rather be in a desirable city at less prestigious programs, or more prestige but less desirable city? This will make a big difference. If you are going for prestige over all, then I would guess you should apply to a larger number of programs.

And remember, fellowships generally are more willing to interview you if you have a compelling case for wanting to be in that specific program. I personally know of more than a handful of examples of people emailing/calling PDs after they didn't receive an interview, and ultimately ending up at that program.

 

[stop2stop]

I actually didn't realized this post was in the cards subforum. I'm going into one of the other top 4 competitive subspecialties, so my experiences don't exactly translate but probably would be similar.

I erred on the side of over-applying. I decided I only wanted to go through this process once, and decided I was ok with potentially wasting some money, which I definitely ended up doing. You can add significant expense at both the ERAS application phase and the interview phase.

It's really hard to give advice without knowing the specific circumstances of you and your SO's applications. This is the main questions you should ask yourselves though,

#Is location or prestige more important to you?
Would you guys rather be in a desirable city at less prestigious programs, or more prestige but less desirable city? This will make a big difference. If you are going for prestige over all, then I would guess you should apply to a larger number of programs.

And remember, fellowships generally are more willing to interview you if you have a compelling case for wanting to be in that specific program. I personally know of more than a handful of examples of people emailing/calling PDs after they didn't receive an interview, and ultimately ending up at that program.

Very helpful. Thank you for your time. Would certainly appreciate the experiences of any other fellowship applicants

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Dear all,

Hoping to just get a general sense of how much is needed to put away from fellowship application and interview expenses. Appreciate any insight, thanks

As already mentioned, it depends on your situation. A smart bet is to apply to enough programs to have 10 interviews and therefore, total cost will be between $3000-4000 for the most part (assuming you can drive to some interviews and crash with friends occasionally).

Applying to 15 programs is extremely reckless. Minimum should be 30-40 in my opinion. The more the merrier. It’s insane to apply so narrowly after decades of education and sacrifices.

Strong applicants from top IM residencies do not need to apply to that many. Weaker applicants from lesser-known residencies need to apply to 50+. Most other applicants will fall in the middle. The number of programs is less important than accurate gauging of the competitiveness of your application. This is where trusted advisors and friends who have already matched can be of help. Don't be afraid to ask for honest advice. It's better you hear it from them and being shocked during interview season. Another key factor which we don't discuss as often is how willing is your home institution to keep you. Most applicants will meet with their fellowship PD and many will know whether they have a good chance of staying or not. For example, my friend only applied to programs he/she would go to over home institution (was given assurance by PD that he/she can stay... take that for what it's worth). Got 5/5 interviews and matched at one of the clinics.

 

[Rocher]

As others have said, $4-5k would be a good estimate for the average candidate

 

[stop2stop]

As already mentioned, it depends on your situation. A smart bet is to apply to enough programs to have 10 interviews and therefore, total cost will be between $3000-4000 for the most part (assuming you can drive to some interviews and crash with friends occasionally).



Strong applicants from top IM residencies do not need to apply to that many. Weaker applicants from lesser-known residencies need to apply to 50+. Most other applicants will fall in the middle. The number of programs is less important than accurate gauging of the competitiveness of your application. This is where trusted advisors and friends who have already matched can be of help. Don't be afraid to ask for honest advice. It's better you hear it from them and being shocked during interview season. Another key factor which we don't discuss as often is how willing is your home institution to keep you. Most applicants will meet with their fellowship PD and many will know whether they have a good chance of staying or not. For example, my friend only applied to programs he/she would go to over home institution (was given assurance by PD that he/she can stay... take that for what it's worth). Got 5/5 interviews and matched at one of the clinics.

Really appreciate the input. Any thoughts on where to get additional information as specifically related to the fellowship couples match? Thank you again to all

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Really appreciate the input. Any thoughts on where to get additional information as specifically related to the fellowship couples match? Thank you again to all

It's the same process as residency couples match, but more difficult and intricate. Is your significant other also going into cardiology? If so, the two of you should apply on different cycles. Even a large program with 9-13 fellows will rarely take 2 from the same institution (minus of course their own) which makes couples matching difficult in the same cycle.

If your significant other is applying to a different specialty, then odds are better and you should apply very, very broadly. My friends who couples matched into cardiology and another competitive specialty went on over 20 interviews, per person

 

[stop2stop]

It's the same process as residency couples match, but more difficult and intricate. Is your significant other also going into cardiology? If so, the two of you should apply on different cycles. Even a large program with 9-13 fellows will rarely take 2 from the same institution (minus of course their own) which makes couples matching difficult in the same cycle.

If your significant other is applying to a different specialty, then odds are better and you should apply very, very broadly. My friends who couples matched into cardiology and another competitive specialty went on over 20 interviews, per person

Thanks yes would be different sub-specialties. We'll see, hoping for the best though yes seems like could make things a bit more expensive. Thanks again for your advice, and again certainly appreciate the experiences of any others.