Transitional Year Has 28% More Applicants Than Four Years Ago
On the day programs opened ERAS 2027 applications, 7,052 people had applied to transitional year, against 5,521 at the same point of ERAS 2023. Programs interviewed 29% of the applicants who signaled them and 3% of those who didn't.
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That is a 28% increase, comparing the same day of each cycle. Of the 20 specialties with at least 300 applicants, 17 grew; transitional year had the sixth-largest increase. Over full seasons, the change from ERAS 2023 to 2026 was +15%. By applicant type, the same-day change since ERAS 2023 was +20% for MDs, +33% for DOs and +48% for international graduates.
Below are five seasons of AAMC ERAS data for transitional year: 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 rose 4 points
In ERAS 2026, 8,097 people applied to transitional year. The pool was 49.2% MD, 17.4% DO and 33.4% international graduates. 1.3% applied to no other specialty, a count that treats required preliminary and transitional years as another specialty.
Applicants are up 7.5% from the same day last year
| Season | All | MD | DO | Intl. grads | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERAS 2027so far, vs. same day of 2026 | ▲+7.5% | ▲+8.2% | ▲+18.7% | ▼−2.3% | ▲+0.3% |
| ERAS 2026vs. 2025 | ▲+7.0% | ▲+3.7% | ▲+6.7% | ▲+15.4% | ▼−0.7% |
| ERAS 2025vs. 2024 | ▲+12.6% | ▲+10.9% | ▲+4.9% | ▲+25.1% | ▲+11.3% |
| ERAS 2024vs. 2023 | ▼−1.4% | ▼−3.9% | ▲+0.1% | ▲+4.6% | ▲+1.6% |
The median applicant sends 12 applications, up from 11
By type in ERAS 2026: MDs 12, DOs 15, international graduates 6. The middle half of applicants sent between 4 and 20. The overall median is the lowest of 23 specialties covered here.
On the programs’ side, the median transitional year program received 430 applications in ERAS 2026, against 465 in ERAS 2023.
Most applicants a program sees have signaled it
In ERAS 2027, 97% of transitional year applicants used signals, and the median signaling applicant used 12.
At the median program, 59% of applicants had signaled it, up from 52% in ERAS 2026. The median program received 315 signals; the busiest tenth received 608 or more.
Signals per applicant by season: 2025: 12 · 2026: 12 · 2027: 12.
A signal multiplies the interview rate about 9-fold
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| Did not signal | Signaled | |
|---|---|---|
| All applicants | 3% | 29% |
| MD | 5% | 39% |
| DO | 2% | 28% |
| Intl. graduates | 0% | 2% |
At 98% 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 transitional year interview invites this season.
A DO's signal returns 73% of what an MD's does; international graduates who signaled were rarely interviewed
An MD who signaled a transitional year program was interviewed at 39% of the median program, the fifth lowest of 21 specialties with interview data. For DOs, transitional year ranks the eighth least DO-friendly of 16.
An international graduate who signaled (2%) still did worse than an MD who didn’t (5%).
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 31%
| Also applied to, ERAS 2026 | Share of applicants |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine (preliminary)PGY-1 year | 72% |
| Internal Medicine (categorical) | 31% |
| Anesthesiology | 23% |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 20% |
| Family Medicine | 19% |
| Internal Medicine (primary care) | 18% |
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.