I decided to check out how much it would cost to apply to the 73 orthopaedic programs that I have on my list. The ERAS site has a breakdown of their pricing structure and it will not be cheap. For the first 10 programs I pay $65 total; for programs 11-20 I pay $8 per program; for programs 21-30 I pay $15 each; and for every program after 30 I pay $25 per program. So just to send out my initial application it adds up to:
Programs 1-10 = $65
Programs 11-20: 10 x $8 = $80
Programs 21-30: 10 x $15 = $150
Programs 31-73: 43 x $25 = $1, 075.
TOTAL = $1, 370
Also, from reading the site I saw that they charge me $60 to transfer my USMLE Step I and Step II scores to my ERAS application, so that will bring the total $1, 430. Its definitely not cheap at all, but I have heard enough horror stories of people balking at the cost, applying to like 40 programs, and then not matching. While $1,430 seems like a lot, it pales in comparison to how much money you will lose by not being about to start residency after you graduate. And all of these figures don’t factor at all how much it will cost to spend 2.5 months on away rotations in terms of living and food expenses. And it doesn’t factor in how much it will cost during interview season for plane tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, etc. I could easily see me pushing $6,000 total for the app process. But yeah…. this upcoming year I am not really going to worry about money, because I would rather go broke this year, then scramble.
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