How to Write Outstanding Noteworthy Characteristics & Meaningful Experiences for ERAS 2025
practical guide for all Medical students getting ready for their ERAS application in USA and across the globe. This will give you some insights on how to use AI meaningfully with authenticity.
The 2025 ERAS application continues to support a holistic review process, encouraging programs to see you as more than scores and transcripts. Your Noteworthy Characteristics (up to 3 items) and Meaningful Experiences (up to 10 entries, with 3 labeled “most meaningful”) are the narrative heartbeat of your application.
They should work together to:
Highlight your unique PERSONAL journey, skills, and values.
Show growth, resilience, and professional identity formation.
Offer concrete evidence of how you will contribute to a residency program.
1. General Principles for Both Sections
Reflect before you write
Think beyond achievements—what moments shaped your values, empathy, and clinical approach?
Journaling or voice-memo reflection can help you capture details before distilling them.
Be specific and personal
Avoid generic traits like hard-working or team player unless tied to a vivid story.
Instead of “I am a strong leader,” write “As president of our student-run free clinic, I coordinated a multidisciplinary team of 40 volunteers to expand services to 200 more patients.”
Connect the dots
Link experiences to the skills and perspectives you’ll bring to residency.
This connection should be implicit in Noteworthy Characteristics and explicit in Meaningful Experiences.
Avoid repetition
If something is in your CV or personal statement, avoid simply rephrasing it here—add new layers or angles.
2. Noteworthy Characteristics (NC)
Purpose
The first narrative program directors read about your chance to set the tone. Limit: 3 items, each suggested characters (including spaces).
What to Include
Personal background or identity that shaped your path (e.g., first-generation college graduate, military service, immigrant experience).
Unique skills or competencies (e.g., fluent in multiple languages, experience in health IT, public health training).
Longstanding passions or commitments (e.g., patient advocacy, rural health, global health).
Adversity overcome or pivotal events (without oversharing personal trauma).
What to Avoid
Overused phrases (“I am passionate about medicine”).
Repeating generic ERAS entries.
Unsubstantiated claims (“I have exceptional empathy”).
Framework for Writing
Trait/Experience → Brief Context → Impact on Identity or Practice
Examples
First-generation college graduate who mentors underrepresented pre-med students, fostering diversity in healthcare.
Former high school science teacher, now dedicated to medical education and learner advocacy.
Certified medical interpreter in Spanish and Haitian Creole; served diverse patients in clinics and disaster relief settings.
Combat veteran, applying lessons in teamwork, adaptability, and resilience to high-acuity clinical environments.
Competitive endurance athlete, translating discipline and perseverance to patient care in high-pressure settings.
3. Meaningful Experiences (ME)
Purpose
Shows the depth and breadth of your engagement with medicine and the world. Limit: 10 total experiences; 3 marked “most meaningful” with extended reflection (~1325 characters each).
What to Include
Clinical experiences: clerkships, volunteer work, observership, free clinics.
Research: clinical, basic science, quality improvement projects.
Leadership: positions in student organizations, committees, advocacy work.
Teaching & mentoring: tutoring peers, curriculum development, community education.
Community engagement: health fairs, public health campaigns, international service.
Personal or non-clinical experiences: caregiving for a family member, competitive sports, arts, military service—if they shaped your professional identity.
Structure for All Entries
Role & Setting: Clearly state your position, location, and duration.
What You Did: Major responsibilities or actions.
What You Learned: Skills, insights, perspectives gained.
Why It Matters: How it influences your future practice or specialty choice.
The “Most Meaningful” Extension
Use this section to:
Share why this experience stands out.
Describe a turning point, challenge, or lesson.
Link directly to your specialty interest or professional values.
4. Specialty-Specific Nuances (2025 Guidance)
Internal Medicine (ACP, 2024)
Value longitudinal patient care, complex case management, interprofessional teamwork.
ME Example: “Followed a panel of diabetic patients over 12 months, deepening my understanding of continuity and trust in chronic care.”
General Surgery (ABS, 2024)
Seek grit, procedural curiosity, and resilience.
ME Example: “Co-led a QI project reducing surgical site infection rates by 15%, reinforcing my interest in perioperative systems improvement.”
Pediatrics (AAP, 2024)
Prioritize advocacy, family-centered care, and developmental communication.
ME Example: “Created an asthma education program for families, integrating culturally tailored materials in three languages.”
Psychiatry (APA, 2024)
Look for listening skills, empathy, and integrated care approaches.
ME Example: “Volunteered in a behavioral health clinic, learning to balance empathy with maintaining clinical boundaries.”
5. Writing Tips for Impact
Start with action verbs: “Led,” “Coordinated,” “Developed,” “Advocated,” “Designed.”
Quantify where possible: “Increased vaccination rates by 20%,” “Trained 50 volunteers,” “Served 300 patients annually.”
Show reflection, not just activity: Replace “I volunteered weekly” with “Weekly volunteering taught me how small gestures can build patient trust.”
Include cultural competence: Mention work with diverse populations, language skills, or inclusive practices.
6. Mentor Strategies to Support Students
Schedule story-mining sessions early—students often forget smaller but powerful experiences.
Use prompts like:
“When did you feel you truly belonged in medicine?”
“What have you done that was difficult but rewarding?”
“What’s a challenge that changed your perspective?”
Review for authenticity, coherence, and mission fit with target specialties/programs.
7. Sample “Most Meaningful” Experience (Full Draft)
Role & Setting: Volunteer Coordinator, Urban Free Clinic (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023)
Description:
Coordinated care for uninsured patients, often navigating language barriers and lack of insurance coverage. Partnered with local pharmacies to secure reduced-cost medications. Developed a patient navigation guide in Spanish and Haitian Creole.
Reflection:
This year taught me that patient care extends beyond prescriptions. I witnessed how systemic barriers delay treatment and how culturally tailored resources can improve outcomes. These experiences reinforced my commitment to primary care in underserved communities and inspired me to pursue additional training in medical Spanish.
8. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Laundry list syndrome: Overstuffing with tasks instead of highlighting impact.
Clichés without evidence: “I’m passionate about helping people” without a concrete example.
Overlapping content: Avoid repeating your personal statement or CV bullet points verbatim.
Too much jargon: Use accessible language; remember not all reviewers share your research niche.
9. Final Checklist Before Submission
✅ Each Noteworthy Characteristic is distinct and adds new insight.
✅ Each Meaningful Experience includes a clear role, learning point, and relevance to your future.
✅ Quantifiable outcomes or specific impacts are included where possible.
✅ Reflections show self-awareness, growth, and mission alignment.
✅ Language is concise, specific, and free of filler words.
How to Use AI (e.g., GPT) in Preparing Your NC and ME
Why Use AI?
AI tools can act as thinking partners—helping you brainstorm, organize, and refine—not as ghostwriters. Programs expect your authentic voice, so AI should enhance reflection, not replace it.
Ethical Use Guidelines
You remain the author: AI can prompt ideas or structure, but all stories and wording must reflect your own experiences.
No fabrication: Never ask AI to “make up” experiences or achievements.
Protect confidentiality: Remove patient names, institution identifiers, or other private details before sharing with AI.
Review for authenticity: If the output doesn’t sound like you, rewrite until it does.
Ways AI Can Help
Brainstorming Themes
Prompt: “Based on this list of my roles and experiences, suggest themes or values they represent.”
Example: You paste in your CV entries, and GPT notices a recurring “health equity” theme you hadn’t consciously framed.
Story-Mining
Prompt: “Ask me reflective questions to help me describe why my volunteer clinic work was meaningful.”
Example: GPT might ask, “What’s a patient interaction you can’t forget?”—helping you recall details to use in your ME.
Organizing Content
Prompt: “Turn this rough paragraph into a 350-character Noteworthy Characteristic that starts with the trait, adds context, and ends with its impact on me as a future physician.”
Example: Your long anecdote about being a first-gen student becomes a crisp NC entry.
Refining Language for Impact
Prompt: “Rewrite this experience description to focus more on what I learned and less on my task list.”
Example: “I shadowed in the ER” becomes “Shadowing in the ER taught me how to think in rapid decision-making cycles while remaining calm with patients.”
Avoiding Redundancy
Prompt: “Compare my personal statement draft with my Noteworthy Characteristics and suggest where I’m repeating myself.”
Example: AI flags that you’ve already mentioned being trilingual in both sections—helping you free space for a new detail.
Practicing Word Economy
Prompt: “Edit this 500-character entry to meet a 350-character limit while preserving meaning and tone.”
Example: AI in Action for NC
Your draft:
"I am a first-generation college student, the oldest of four siblings, who has always valued hard work. I helped support my family financially during school, which made me more resilient and resourceful."
AI-assisted refinement:
"First-generation college graduate who balanced academics with supporting four siblings, building resilience and resourcefulness that I bring to patient care."
Example: AI in Action for ME
Your rough notes:
Volunteer at urban free clinic
Worked with Spanish-speaking patients
Helped with medication access issues
Learned cultural humility and patience
AI prompt:
"Draft a Meaningful Experience entry (700 characters) using my notes, highlighting role, learning, and why it matters to my career in primary care."
AI-generated draft (student-reviewed):
"As a volunteer at an urban free clinic, I coordinated care for Spanish-speaking patients, navigating insurance and medication access barriers. This work deepened my cultural humility and reinforced my commitment to primary care in underserved communities."
Mentor Strategies for Students Using AI
Ask students to bring both their raw reflections and any AI-assisted drafts to meetings.
Focus feedback on whether the final version still “sounds like” the student.
Remind them that AI is best used before final polishing, so the student’s own revisions dominate the final tone.
Final Checklist Before Submission
(as before, but add)
✅ I have used AI only to help brainstorm, organize, or edit—not to fabricate content.
✅ My voice, values, and authentic experiences are preserved.