The 2026 Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application asks you to choose ten Selected Experiences that communicate who you are and what’s most important to you. You’re then asked to highlight three of those experiences as “most meaningful,” with a short description of why, and you’ll have the opportunity to submit an optional essay on impactful experiences.

That’s a lot to accomplish, and it’s easy to get bogged down. This blog post will help! Let’s begin with how to arrive at your ten experiences, and then we’ll break down this section to help you make the greatest impact with your application. 

Which Experiences Should You Include?

Most applicants will have more than ten experiences. Rather than trying to figure out which ones are the “most important,” you might want to look at the different qualities they demonstrate in the context of your chosen specialty. In other words, think first about the qualities or skills needed in your specialty, and then choose and prioritize the experiences that prove you possess those qualities and skills. In doing this, some applicants find clusters of relevant experiences – multiple activities that reflect their advocacy skills, for instance, or tutoring abilities – that they can group together in a single entry.

Five Tips to Choose Your Ten Best Experiences

1. Focus on experiences that demonstrate your interest in whatever field you’ve chosen. One way to approach this is to include an experience for each of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies in your field: Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Systems-Based Practice, Professionalism, and Interpersonal and Communication Skills. For instance, if you’re applying to pediatrics, include at least one experience that demonstrates your engagement in Patient Care, one that showcases your Medical Knowledge, another that highlights your commitment to Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, and so on.  
2. Strike a balance between recent events – those that occurred during med school, if possible – and continuity. I’ve heard some people advise a “one to two, tops” rule for premed activities. I don’t know whether I adhere to that, but out of ten experiences, aim for the majority to be more recent med school activities. However, if you’re choosing between a one-day screening event in med school and an extended volunteer experience as an undergrad, the experience as an undergrad will carry more weight. 
3. If you were involved in multiple one-day screening events, think about combining them into one entry under an umbrella heading (e.g., advocacy in medical school) to show a deeper connection/impact. Briefly describe each one, with dates, but be sure to include a summary introduction and/or conclusion that pulls them all together.
4. Choose experiences that complement your personal statement and the Noteworthy Characteristics section of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE). There will undoubtedly be some overlap in your experiences, but craft your descriptions from different angles to provide new insights into you and your journey to residency.
5. Show your individuality by giving context to your passions and pastimes. Program directors aren’t looking for residents with a sole focus but rather someone who will complement their team and residency program. Interests outside of medicine signal a more balanced lifestyle and offer even more opportunities to contribute to your training. (Also, keep in mind that you have an extra 300 characters with which to describe your hobbies.)

Categorizing Your Selected Experiences

Once you’ve selected your ten experiences, ERAS asks you to categorize them. The first categorization, Experience Type, is required. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) provides the following descriptions and guidelines:

• Education/training (includes clinical training such as clerkships, away rotations, subinternships, structured observerships)  
• Military service  
• Professional organization (includes societies, associations, etc., at the local, regional, national, or international levels)  
• Other extracurricular activity, club, hobby (includes sports, music, theater, student government, etc.)  
• Research  
• Teaching/mentoring (includes paid teaching positions such as high school teacher as well as teaching assistant, tutor)  
• Volunteer/service/advocacy (includes unpaid experiences)  
• Work (includes paid clinical, nonclinical, business, or entrepreneurial experiences) 

Next, you’re asked to identify a Primary Focus Area and a Key Characteristic for each experience. Unlike the required Experience Type, these sections are optional. If no areas or characteristics apply, you can technically leave this field blank. Avoid doing this as much as possible, however. Although categorizing each experience might feel tedious, the AAMC reports that “More than 90% of respondents to the 2025 Program Director Survey used the key characteristics and primary focus areas.”

The AAMC site describes the various Primary Focus Areas as follows:

• Basic science (e.g., scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, and also behavioral and social sciences such as psychology, cognitive science, economics, or political science)  
• Clinical/translational science (e.g., diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, development of drugs)  
• Community involvement/outreach (e.g., clothing or food drives, fundraising for public education, K-12 outreach, providing tutoring to youths experiencing homelessness, and social work)  
• Customer service (e.g., positions in retail, restaurant, sales, hospitality, and technical support)  
• Health care administration (e.g., hospital administrators, clinical managers, financial managers, and patient advocates)  
• Improving access to health care (e.g., clinic work in underserved communities, organizing vaccination or health screening for a community with limited access, providing medical or health care resources to people experiencing homelessness)  
• Medical education (e.g., formal instruction to others, tutoring medical students, developing health-related curriculum, conducting research in admissions, student affairs, or educational interventions)  
• Music/athletics/art (e.g., long-term commitments in playing musical instruments or singing, sports, theater/acting, painting or drawing, and computer graphics)  
• Promoting wellness (e.g., developing a wellness program, formal coaching, or mentoring others to promote well-being)  
• Public health (e.g., biostatistics, epidemiology, global health, and nutrition)  
• Quality improvement (e.g., patient safety, such as implementing a plan to reduce secondary infections in patients)  
• Social justice/advocacy (e.g., working to advance health care for all communities; worker unions; and increasing access to educational opportunities) 
• Technology (e.g., engineering or software innovations, biomedical devices, electronic health records [EHRs], and mobile or other software applications) 

The AAMC site lists the various Key Characteristics as follows:

• Communication  
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Cultural humility and awareness  
• Empathy and compassion  
• Ethical responsibility  
• Ingenuity and innovation  
• Reliability and dependability  
• Resilience and adaptability 
• Self-reflection and improvement  
• Teamwork and leadership

Writing Your Experience Descriptions

After choosing your Experience Types, Focus Areas, and Key Characteristics, you will briefly describe each Selected Experience in 750 characters or less. That’s not a lot of room, so it’s best to avoid a straightforward, CV-style write-up of the position with bland job descriptions in bullet points. (By the way, bullet-point formats are lost in the application’s text box, and you’ll end up with a jumbled block of partial sentences, so avoid using them.) Instead, focus on what you brought to the role and how you made it your own. What were the challenges you faced, and what did you accomplish? Who was impacted by your efforts? Can you back anything up with numbers? You should also (implicitly, if not explicitly) explain what the experience means for you in your chosen specialty.

Three Most Meaningful Experiences

Of the ten experiences you select, you will then highlight three as the most meaningful. This isn’t the place to reiterate your responsibilities in each role. Instead, take the next step and build on these responsibilities. Think about your personal values – especially those that mesh with ones related to your specialty. For example, participating in a rural community needs assessment might embody the kind of advocacy you believe in; sacrificing countless chicken breasts to laparoscopy practice might exemplify your dedication to continued improvement. If you do this, then each 300-character meaningful experience description will show how you’ve understood and reflected on the impact of your work in the context of your specialty.

Other Impactful Experiences

This optional question allows applicants to share any major obstacles they faced before or during medical school. Many candidates will not need to answer this question. If your answer is flippant or shallow, it could do you more harm than good. On the other hand, the obstacles in your life might not be something you want to share. If this is the case, don’t feel obligated to write anything. 

If you do respond to this question, you will need to write a short, 750-character essay describing your experiences. Do not repeat what you’ve already written in your personal statement and activities. Instead, think of this as a separate but related piece of the puzzle – one that will provide a fuller understanding of who you are. Reflect on your experiences to determine how life circumstances beyond your control – at any point in your life – have affected and/or limited you and your opportunities. These could relate to your family situation or financial background, the community in which you were raised, the educational opportunities you’ve had (or didn’t have), the impact of your religion on your life, or other such life experiences. 

In writing this essay, try to lay out the objective facts – without blame or bitterness – and keep your tone positive. The best essays celebrate what has gone right or what an applicant has been able to accomplish despite the difficulties they have faced. Did you grow up in a restrictive community where you were expected to marry young, but you followed your dream of studying instead? Did you successfully balance college with raising a child with special needs? Did you experience a health issue that interrupted your medical studies, but you used your leave of absence to pursue research? Sharing how you’ve advocated for yourself and found ways to be successful despite obstacles reveals your resilience. 

Using the ERAS Selected Experiences section wisely will help you demonstrate your multifaceted qualifications and the varied experiences you will bring to a well-rounded medical team. 

Do you need help with ERAS or any other element of your residency or fellowship application? Work one-on-one with an Accepted advisor who will help you create a strong, successful, admission-worthy application. Request your free consultation today!

Related Resources

• Premed Confidential: The Wisdom of Journaling
• “Show Me. Don’t Tell Me.” How Five Words Can Transform Your Application
• What to Expect During Medical School