Neurological Surgery Has 37% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 587 people had applied to neurological surgery, against 430 at the same point of ERAS 2023. Programs interviewed 29% of the applicants who signaled them and 2% of those who didn't.
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That is a 37% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; neurological surgery had the third-largest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +22%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was +34% for MDs and +45% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for neurological 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 international-graduate share of applicants fell 2 points
In ERAS 2026, 615 people applied to neurological surgery. The pool was 68.5% MD, 6% DO and 25.5% international graduates. 59.8% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are up 2.4% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▲+2.4% | ▲+6.3% | – | ▼−2.4% | ▼−0.1% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+3.6% | ▲+4.0% | – | ▲+1.6% | ▼−6.1% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+17.9% | ▲+14.4% | – | ▲+25.5% | ▲+11.5% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▲+9.1% | ▲+6.1% | – | ▲+16.7% | ▲+3.9% |
The median applicant sends 55 applications, down from 73
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 58, DOs 49, international graduates 47. The middle half of applicants sent between 32 and 82. The overall median is the second highest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median neurological surgery program received 107 applications in ERAS 2026, against 126 in ERAS 2023.
About 40% of a program's applicants signal it
In ERAS 2027, 100% of neurological surgery applicants used signals, and the median signaling applicant used 25.
At the median program, 42% of applicants had signaled it, up from 38% in ERAS 2026. The median program received 118.5 signals; the busiest tenth received 165 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2024: 25 · 2025: 25 · 2026: 25 · 2027: 25.
See which neurological surgery programs a signal moves most.
A signal multiplies the interview rate about 14-fold
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| Did not signal | Signaled | |
|---|---|---|
| All applicants | 2% | 29% |
| MD | 2% | 38% |
| Intl. graduates | 0% | 3% |
30% of neurological surgery programs interviewed no one who hadn’t signaled them. 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 neurological surgery interview invites this season.
An international graduate's signal returns 7% of what an MD's does
An MD who signaled a neurological surgery program was interviewed at 38% of the median program, the fourth lowest of 21 specialties with interview data. The AAMC didn’t report a DO figure (under 50 DO applicants).
An international graduate who signaled (3%) did better than an MD who didn’t (2%), one of the few specialties where that holds.
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 general surgery, chosen by 18%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| General Surgery (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 19% |
| General Surgery (categorical) | 18% |
| Neurology | 8% |
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 8% |
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 5% |
| Family Medicine | 5% |
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.