Updated
How Many Residency Programs to Apply To: AAMC Data by Specialty
There is no official number. Use your specialty's average as a starting point: per the AAMC's ERAS statistics, US MD applicants averaged 27.6 applications in internal medicine, 25.2 in pediatrics, 50.4 in general surgery and 57.3 in psychiatry in the 2026 ERAS season. Then spend your effort on signals: in the AAMC's 2026 analysis, signaled applications got far higher median invitation rates than unsignaled ones.
Below are the AAMC's own numbers, a few headline figures credited and linked, our worked example of what a list returns, and our five-step method. Numbers are from the AAMC's ERAS data, read November 3, 2026. We don't use NRMP match data here. The NRMP's Charting Outcomes reports are the place for match outcomes by specialty.
How many programs do residency applicants apply to?
The AAMC publishes the average number of applications each applicant sent in each specialty, by applicant type, in its ERAS applicant and application volume data. The 2026 season, which ended May 31, 2026, is the latest complete one. A few headline numbers for US and Canadian MD applicants:
- Internal medicine: 27.6 applications on average, down from 34.9 in 2023.
- Psychiatry: 57.3, down from 62.6.
- Orthopaedic surgery: 38.8, down from 83.6. By our math that is 54% fewer.
- Dermatology: 34.9, down from 89.9, or 61% fewer by our math.
The full table for every specialty and applicant type is in the AAMC's file. The averages count applications before SOAP and leave SOAP out. Emergency medicine and OB/GYN now apply through ResidencyCAS, so their recent averages aren't in the AAMC's ERAS data.
Why are residency lists getting shorter?
The AAMC doesn't name one cause, but the biggest change in these years was program signals, which let applicants tell a set number of programs they are especially interested in. The AAMC's 2026 signal to interview analysis compared, program by program, how often signaled and unsignaled applicants were invited, using interview data from Thalamus. At the median program:
- Psychiatry invited 58% of US MD applicants who signaled it and 10% who didn't.
- Internal medicine invited 62% with a gold signal, 50% with a silver signal and 11% with none.
- Orthopaedic surgery invited 26% of signalers and 0% of everyone else.
- Family medicine was gentler, at 78% and 49%.
The AAMC warns that the analysis doesn't control for everything programs consider, and a median isn't your personal chance. Still, the pattern runs through almost every specialty: an unsignaled application to a competitive program rarely turns into an interview. How many signals your specialty gets is in our program signals guide.
Our worked example: what does a 30-program list return?
Take an invented US MD applicant in internal medicine, which gives 3 gold and 12 silver signals. They apply to 30 programs: every signal, plus 15 unsignaled programs. At the AAMC's median rates, our math gives about 9.5 invitations, and 7.9 of them come from the 15 signaled programs. Ten more unsignaled programs would add about 1.1 invitations for $300 in ERAS fees.
This is an illustration, not a prediction. Strong applicants beat the median and weaker ones fall below it. The point holds either way: choose the signaled programs carefully, and add unsignaled ones only where you clearly fit.
How many programs should DO and international applicants apply to?
More, in most specialties, and the AAMC's numbers show it. In internal medicine in 2026, DO applicants averaged 45.6 applications and international medical graduates 86.1, against 27.6 for MD applicants. Invitation rates were lower too: the median internal medicine program invited 24% of international graduates who sent a gold signal and 1% of those who sent none.
For international graduates, screening matters more than size. A program that doesn't sponsor your visa or limits years since graduation will not invite you at any list length. Our IMG-friendly programs guide shows how to check.
How should you build your residency list?
The AAMC points applicants to its free Residency Explorer tool to compare programs and build a strategic application plan. Our five steps:
1. Start with your signals, not a number
Pick the programs you would most like to train at that you have a real chance with, and give them your signals. In the AAMC's data, signaled applications were invited far more often than unsignaled ones.
2. Cut every program you can't match at
Check each program's own page for visa sponsorship, exam attempts, years since graduation and US clinical experience. An application to a program that screens you out costs the same and returns nothing.
3. Add programs that fit where you want to live
Your geographic preferences in MyERAS should match the list. The AAMC found invitation rates were generally higher for signaled applicants whose preferences matched the program's region.
4. Fill to your specialty's typical size, then adjust
Use the AAMC average for your specialty and applicant type as a starting point, and spread it across reach, target and safer programs for your application. Go higher with exam attempts, a gap, a visa need or a very competitive specialty, and lower with strong ties to the region and good letters.
5. Add a parallel plan if you need one
If your first-choice specialty is a stretch, apply to a second specialty at the same time. The ERAS fee resets in each specialty.
What about the AAMC's old 'point of diminishing returns'?
In 2018 the AAMC published research showing the number of applications it takes to reach the point of diminishing returns varies by specialty. Those figures were tied to Step 1 scores, which are now pass or fail, and came before signals, so we don't repeat them. The idea still holds: past a certain size, another application adds cost and very little else.
How much does each list size cost?
ERAS charges per specialty, $11 per program for the first 30 and $30 for each one after, per the AAMC's fee page. Our math for one specialty:
| Programs | ERAS fee |
|---|---|
| 15 programs | ERAS fee: $165 |
| 25 programs | ERAS fee: $275 |
| 30 programs | ERAS fee: $330 |
| 40 programs | ERAS fee: $630 |
| 60 programs | ERAS fee: $1,230 |
The fee jumps after 30 because of the higher rate. Our ERAS fees page has the full calculator with transcripts and NRMP registration, and our dual applying guide covers splitting a list across two specialties.
A list you chose on purpose pays off again in the interview, because every program asks why you applied.
Practice question
“Why did you apply to our program?”
Every program on your list will ask some version of it, and a list you built on purpose makes it easy. Name one thing about the program that you couldn't get everywhere, and tie it to something you've done.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I built my list around one thing first, early continuity clinic, because my best months in school were in a clinic where I followed the same patients for a year.
Your program puts interns in their own panel from July, and your residents run the diabetes group visits I read about on your site. I ran a similar group at our student clinic for two years, so I'd arrive knowing how to start one. That's why you got one of my signals.
Sources: the AAMC's ERAS Statistics page, its 2023-2027 Residency Applicant and Application Volume file (as of October 1, 2026), its 2026 Program Signal and Interview Invitation analysis, 2026 signaling and geographic preference analysis, ERAS fee page, Residency Explorer pages and a 2018 AAMC News article, checked November 3, 2026. A few headline numbers are quoted, and the full tables are on the AAMC's site.
Frequently asked questions
How many residency programs should I apply to?
There is no official number. A good start is the AAMC's average for your specialty and applicant type, then adjust. In the 2026 ERAS season, US MD applicants averaged 27.6 applications in internal medicine, 25.2 in pediatrics and 50.4 in general surgery. DO and international applicants averaged more in all three. See the AAMC's ERAS statistics.
Is applying to 100 residency programs too many?
For most US applicants, yes. Even international graduates in internal medicine averaged 86.1 applications in the 2026 season. Programs that screen you out return nothing, and unsignaled applications had low median invite rates in many specialties in the AAMC's analysis. Spend the money on a list you can explain. See the AAMC's signal analysis.
Do program signals change how many programs I should apply to?
Yes. In the AAMC's 2026 data, the median psychiatry program invited 58% of US MD applicants who signaled it, against 10% who didn't. Between the 2023 and 2026 ERAS seasons, the average US MD list in orthopaedic surgery and dermatology shrank by more than half. Read our program signals guide.
How much does it cost to apply to residency programs?
ERAS charges $11 per program for the first 30 in each specialty and $30 for each one after. So 30 programs in one specialty cost $330 and 40 cost $630. Transcripts and NRMP registration are extra. See our ERAS fees calculator.
How many residency programs should an IMG apply to?
More than a US graduate, but only to programs that take you. International graduates averaged 86.1 internal medicine applications in the 2026 season, against 27.6 for US MD applicants, and their median invite rates were much lower. Screening for visa sponsorship and graduation year matters more than adding programs. Read our IMG-friendly programs guide.