General Surgery Has 14% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 5,402 people had applied to general surgery, against 4,732 at the same point of ERAS 2023. Programs interviewed 26% of the applicants who signaled them and 5% of those who didn't.
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That is a 14% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; general surgery had the 15th-largest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +8%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was +12% for MDs, +25% for DOs and +12% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for general surgery: who applies, how many applications they send, how signals are used and how often programs interviewed applicants who did and didn’t signal them, split by MD, DO and international medical graduate.
The mix of MD, DO and international applicants has barely changed
In ERAS 2026, 6,174 people applied to general surgery. The pool was 48.5% MD, 15.8% DO and 35.7% international graduates. 45% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are up 3.0% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▲+3.0% | ▲+6.9% | ▲+10.6% | ▼−6.8% | ▼−5.1% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+7.5% | ▲+5.5% | ▲+12.8% | ▲+8.1% | ▼−1.6% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+4.4% | ▲+3.3% | ▼−4.0% | ▲+10.9% | ▼−1.7% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▼−1.2% | ▼−3.5% | ▲+4.3% | 0.0% | ▼−1.5% |
The median applicant sends 45 applications, down from 54
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 45, DOs 49, international graduates 45. The middle half of applicants sent between 16 and 81. The overall median is the sixth highest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median general surgery program received 559 applications in ERAS 2026, against 678 in ERAS 2023.
About 20% of a program's applicants signal it
In ERAS 2027, 99% of general surgery applicants used signals, and the median signaling applicant used 15.
At the median program, 21% of applicants had signaled it, up from 19% in ERAS 2026. The median program received 166 signals; the busiest tenth received 394 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2024: 5 · 2025: 15 · 2026: 15.
A signal multiplies the interview rate about 5-fold
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| Did not signal | Signaled | |
|---|---|---|
| All applicants | 5% | 26% |
| MD | 9% | 35% |
| DO | 2% | 21% |
| Intl. graduates | 0.3% | 5% |
At 96% of programs, signaled applicants were interviewed at a higher rate than those who didn’t signal.
These are last season’s rates. Track who is sending general surgery interview invites this season.
A DO's signal returns 59% of what an MD's does; an international graduate's, 15%
An MD who signaled a general surgery program was interviewed at 35% of the median program, the second lowest of 21 specialties with interview data. For DOs, general surgery ranks the fifth least DO-friendly of 16.
An international graduate who signaled (5%) still did worse than an MD who didn’t (9%).
These are outcomes by group, not the effect of belonging to one. The groups differ in exam timing, visa needs and U.S. clinical experience, and none of that is controlled here.
The most common backup is internal medicine, chosen by 17%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| General Surgery (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 51% |
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 17% |
| Family Medicine | 9% |
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 8% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 7% |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | 6% |
Rows marked PGY-1 year are preliminary and transitional programs, which specialties that start at PGY-2 require. Categorical programs in another specialty are the real backup plan.