Are you wondering how to match into neurological surgery? Or how many neurological surgery residency programs are there? Do you want to know everything there is about neurological surgery residency interviews? Need to know how many interviews to match in neurological surgery?
In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to match into neurological surgery.
Summary:
- Neurological surgery is highly competitive, in part due to having a high % of unmatched US seniors.
- In part due to the volume of applications, neurological surgery residency programs use standardized screens to “weed out” applicants
- The most successful applicants won’t fail any USMLE, have good USMLE scores, a stellar MSPE, and demonstrate lots of interest in programs
- Historically, most neurological surgery interview invites occur before October 31, and the vast majority before December 31
Table of Contents
How Competitive is it to Match into Neurological Surgery?
How competitive is it to match into neurological surgery in the US? Here we have the unmatched % for US seniors by specialty. The “Unmatched %” means the % of US seniors who applied into neurological surgery who did not match during the given year.
This is one measure of specialty competitiveness – perhaps the most relevant if you want to match into neurological surgery.
For more on the competitiveness of neurological surgery relative to other medical specialties, see this article.
How Many Neurological Surgery Residency Programs Are There?
Before we discuss how many neurological surgery residency programs there are in the US, let’s review some terminology. For many specialized residency programs (e.g., anesthesiology, dermatology, radiology, radiation oncology, etc.), the specialty training begins during the second year of residency. This second year is also known as the PGY-2 (post-graduate year 2, for the second year after graduating from medical school).
Categorical vs. Advanced vs. Physician Neurological Surgery Programs
Neurological surgery has three different kinds of residency programs applicants can potentially enter: categorical, advanced, and physician (R).
Categorical refers to programs that include all years of residency training. Neurological surgery residency lasts seven years. The first year of training, however, is a “preliminary” year that can be either internal medicine, surgery, or transitional (a sort of grab-bag that will depend on the hospital). Some programs include the PGY-1 “intern” year – these programs are known as “categorical” programs.
Others, however, require applicants to match separately into an intern year. These programs, which begin in the PGY-2 years, are referred to as “advanced” positions.
Finally, others who have already completed at least a year of residency training may be eligible for a “physician” neurological surgery position. These positions allow applicants to move directly into the PGY-2 specialty training and skip the PGY-1 year. This arrangement may be ideal for those who want to complete residency sooner and not have to repeat their intern year.
How Many Neurological Surgery Residency Programs and Positions Are There?
In the 2022 NRMP Match, there were:
- 115 Neurological Surgery programs offering 240 PGY-1 (categorical) positions,
- 0 Neurological Surgery programs offering 0 PGY-2 (advanced) positions, and
- 0 Neurological Surgery programs offering 0 Physician (R) positions
Thus, the total number of Neurological Surgery residency positions in 2022 was 240 + 0 + 0 = 240. There were at least 115 Neurological Surgery programs in 2022. However, it is unclear how many more than that there were since many of the residency programs that offer advanced and/or physician positions also offer categorical ones.
See the 2022 Main Residency Match Results and Data for more information on neurological surgery match statistics.
How to Match into Neurological Surgery: Impressing Program Directors
To match into neurological surgery, you must first be invited to interview. According to the most recent program director (PD) survey from 2021, PDs shared what they look for in candidates they hope to interview.
For neurological surgery, the top five most important characteristics for receiving an interview, according to program directors, were:
- USMLE Step 1 Score
- MSPE
- USMLE Step 2 CK Score
- Grades in Required Clerkships
- Any Failed USMLE Attempt
The same data are presented more fully in a table. Here you will see the % of program director respondents who cited a factor as important for granting an interview, as well as the mean importance score (out of 5).
To balance the breadth of program directors citing each factor with the importance given to each factor, a “composite score” was created. This composite score takes the average of the % respondents citing a factor with the importance score scaled to 100%. For example, if 80% of PDs cited a given factor, with a mean importance score of 5.0 (out of 5), the composite score would be 90%. (The average of 80% of PDs citing with 5/5 – or 100% – for the mean importance, for a composite score of 90%).
| Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered in Deciding Whom to INTERVIEW (% of Respondents Endorsing) | Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered in Deciding Whom to INTERVIEW (Mean Importance / 5) | Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered for Interview Composite Score (Average of % Respondents Endorsing and Mean Importance / 5) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| USMLE Step 1 Score | 89.5% | 4.2 | 95.4% |
| MSPE | 73.7% | 3.6 | 86.8% |
| USMLE Step 2 CK Score | 68.4% | 3.9 | 82.9% |
| Grades in Required Clerkships | 73.7% | 4.1 | 82.2% |
| Any Failed USMLE Attempt | 31.6% | 4.7 | 77.9% |
| Class Ranking/Quartile | 63.2% | 4 | 77.6% |
| Grades in Clerkship in Preferred Specialty | 63.2% | 4.6 | 76.6% |
| Any Failed COMLEX-USA Attempt | 10.5% | 4.5 | 75.2% |
| Consistency of Grades | 52.6% | 4.2 | 73.2% |
| COMLEX-USA Level 1 score | 10.5% | 4.5 | 73.2% |
| Awards/Honors in Clinical Clerkships | 57.9% | 3.7 | 72.9% |
| COMLEX-USA Level 2 CE Score | 5.3% | 4 | 71.6% |
| AOA Membership | 36.8% | 4.4 | 71.3% |
| GHHS Membership | 15.8% | 4.3 | 70.0% |
| Passing USMLE Step 2 CS | 36.8% | 3.6 | 69.7% |
| Awards/Honors, Clerkship in Preferred Specialty | 42.1% | 4.1 | 68.3% |
| Continuous Medical Education w/o Gaps | 26.3% | 4.6 | 66.3% |
| Medical School Accreditation Status | 21.1% | 4.8 | 66.3% |
| Medical School Reputation | 26.3% | 4 | 66.0% |
| Passing COMLEX-USA Level 2 PE | 5.3% | 3 | 65.3% |
| Awards/Honors in Basic Sciences | 36.8% | 3.6 | 62.8% |
| Sigma Sigma Phi Membership | 0.0% | 62.4% | |
| USMLE Step 3 Score | 0.0% | 62.1% | |
| COMLEX-USA Level 3 Score | 0.0% | 59.2% | |
| How Medical School Handled Virtual Rotations | 5.3% | 3 | 59.1% |
| Letters of Recommendation in Specialty | 94.7% | 4.8 | 58.6% |
| Personal Statement (Overall) | 68.4% | 4.1 | 58.6% |
| Diversity Characteristics | 68.4% | 3.9 | 55.6% |
| Perceived Commitment to Specialty | 68.4% | 4.8 | 55.3% |
| Having Overcome Significant Obstacles | 52.6% | 3.9 | 55.2% |
| Professionalism and Ethics | 63.2% | 4.5 | 54.4% |
| Perceived Interest in Program | 57.9% | 4.1 | 54.4% |
| Leadership Qualities | 52.6% | 4.5 | 53.6% |
| Volunteer/Extracurricular Experience | 42.1% | 3.8 | 53.2% |
| Personal Prior Knowledge of Applicant | 52.6% | 4 | 50.9% |
| Other Life Experience | 52.6% | 4 | 50.3% |
| Audition Elective/Rotation in PD's Dept | 26.3% | 4.2 | 50.3% |
| Involvement and Interest in Research | 73.7% | 4.6 | 42.7% |
| Ability to Work Legally w/o Visa | 15.8% | 3.3 | 40.9% |
| Visa Status | 21.1% | 4.3 | 32.7% |
| Fluency in Language of Pt Population | 10.5% | 5 | 32.7% |
| NRMP Flag for Match Violation | 21.1% | 4.8 | 0.0% |
| Interest in Academic Career | 47.4% | 4.6 | 0.0% |
| Away Rotation in Specialty Elsewhere | 21.1% | 4.5 | 0.0% |
Here are the composite scores for the criteria neurological surgery program directors use for grading interviews.
What Do Neurological Surgery Program Directors Look for When Ranking Applicants?
Getting an interview is only part of the process of matching into neurological surgery. Program directors also rank the most important factors for creating their rank order list.
In the 2021 Program Director Survey, neurological surgery PDs rated these criteria as most important for deciding whom to rank:
- USMLE Step 1 Score
- MSPE
- USMLE Step 2 CK Score
- Class Ranking/Quartile
- Any Failed USMLE Attempt
We can see the full list here:
| Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered in Deciding Whom to RANK (% of Respondents Endorsing) | Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered in Deciding Whom to RANK (Mean Importance / 5) | Neurological Surgery: Characteristics Considered for Rank Composite Score (Average of % Respondents Endorsing and Mean Importance / 5) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| USMLE Step 1 Score | 78.9% | 4.4 | 92.8% |
| MSPE | 42.1% | 3.9 | 87.5% |
| USMLE Step 2 CK Score | 68.4% | 4 | 85.9% |
| Class Ranking/Quartile | 42.1% | 4 | 83.5% |
| Any Failed USMLE Attempt | 26.3% | 4.4 | 82.9% |
| Grades in Required Clerkships | 36.8% | 4.3 | 82.9% |
| COMLEX-USA Level 2 CE Score | 5.3% | 5 | 78.6% |
| COMLEX-USA Level 1 score | 10.5% | 5 | 75.6% |
| Any Failed COMLEX-USA Attempt | 10.5% | 4.5 | 74.2% |
| Grades in Clerkship in Preferred Specialty | 36.8% | 4.3 | 67.7% |
| Consistency of Grades | 31.6% | 4.2 | 67.1% |
| AOA Membership | 42.1% | 4 | 66.1% |
| GHHS Membership | 5.3% | 5 | 65.7% |
| Continuous Medical Education w/o Gaps | 10.5% | 4 | 63.7% |
| Passing USMLE Step 2 CS | 36.8% | 4 | 61.4% |
| Awards/Honors, Clerkship in Preferred Specialty | 36.8% | 4.1 | 61.4% |
| Awards/Honors in Clinical Clerkships | 21.1% | 4 | 61.1% |
| Medical School Reputation | 5.3% | 5 | 61.1% |
| Medical School Accreditation Status | 15.8% | 4.3 | 60.1% |
| Passing COMLEX-USA Level 2 PE | 5.3% | 3 | 59.4% |
| Sigma Sigma Phi Membership | 0.0% | 59.2% | |
| Awards/Honors in Basic Sciences | 15.8% | 4 | 58.4% |
| USMLE Step 3 Score | 0.0% | 57.8% | |
| COMLEX-USA Level 3 Score | 0.0% | 57.2% | |
| How Medical School Handled Virtual Rotations | 0.0% | 57.2% | |
| Interpersonal Skills | 89.5% | 4.8 | 55.8% |
| Interactions with Faculty During Interview/Visit | 73.7% | 4.6 | 55.3% |
| Feedback from Current Residents | 78.9% | 4.8 | 54.9% |
| Interactions with House Staff During Interview/Visit | 73.7% | 4.9 | 53.6% |
| Diversity Characteristics | 26.3% | 4.4 | 53.2% |
| Perceived Commitment to Specialty | 63.2% | 4.7 | 53.2% |
| Letters of Recommendation in Specialty | 73.7% | 4.6 | 53.2% |
| Perceived Interest in Program | 47.4% | 4.2 | 52.7% |
| Personal Statement | 47.4% | 4 | 52.7% |
| Professionalism and Ethics | 42.1% | 4.6 | 52.7% |
| Leadership Qualities | 42.1% | 4.5 | 50.9% |
| Having Overcome Significant Obstacles | 26.3% | 4 | 50.6% |
| Personal Prior Knowledge of Applicant | 26.3% | 4 | 50.3% |
| Other Life Experience | 21.1% | 4.3 | 50.3% |
| Volunteer/Extracurricular Experience | 31.6% | 4 | 50.3% |
| Audition Elective/Rotation in PD's Dept | 26.3% | 47.9% | |
| Involvement and Interest in Research | 63.2% | 4.4 | 45.3% |
| Fluency in Language of Patient Population | 10.5% | 4.5 | 42.7% |
| Ability to Work Legally w/o Visa | 10.5% | 4.5 | 42.7% |
| Other Post-Interview Contact | 5.3% | 4 | 32.7% |
| Interest in Academic Career | 47.4% | 4.4 | 13.2% |
| NRMP Flag for Match Violation | 15.8% | 4.7 | 0.0% |
| Visa Status | 26.3% | 4 | 0.0% |
| Applicant Facility with Meeting Platform Tech | 5.3% | 4 | 0.0% |
| Away Rotation in Specialty Elsewhere | 26.3% | 4.6 | 0.0% |
| Second Interview/Visit | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Finally, we can see the composite scores for criteria used to rank neurological surgery applicants.
What Characteristics Do Successful Neurological Surgery Applicants Share?
Here are the characteristics of matched vs. unmatched US seniors applying to neurological surgery.
| Matched | Unmatched | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean number of contiguous ranks, US Senior | 18.7 | 7 |
| Mean number of distinct specialties ranked, US Senior | 1 | 1.5 |
| Step 1, US Senior | 248 | 238 |
| Step 2, US Senior | 252 | 246 |
| Mean number of research experiences, US Senior | 6.6 | 5.9 |
| Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications, US Senior | 25.5 | 11.7 |
| Mean number of work experiences, US Senior | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Mean number of volunteer experiences, US Senior | 7.6 | 7 |
| Percentage who are AOA members, US Senior | 28.7 | 3.6 |
| Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding, US Senior | 42.5 | 16.4 |
| Percentage who have Ph.D. degree, US Senior | 11.4 | 7.8 |
| Percentage who have another graduate degree, US Senior | 22.6 | 23.5 |
Match Into Neurological Surgery: Pass the Screens with High USMLEs
Neurological surgery relies on standardized screens to weed out applicants. In the 2021 Program Director Survey, neurological surgery PDs respondents reported that 38% of applications were rejected via standardized screen. This ranked near the middle of residencies.
What Are the Step 1 and Step 2 CK Cut-Offs for Interviews in Neurological Surgery?
As mentioned above, neurological surgery ranks near the middle of programs using standardized screens to eliminate applications. Many neurological surgery programs screen out applicants with failed USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK (see below). In addition, PDs use Step 1 and Step 2 CK score cut-offs to weed out applicants.
For Step 1, neurological surgery program directors reported Step 1 score cut-offs between 230 and 240 as 25% and 75%ile marks to screen out applicants.
Step 2 CK Cut-Off data was not provided for neurological surgery, but you can see other specialty’s data below.
For more on the USMLE cut-off scores for granting interviews – or weeding out applicants – see this article.
If I Fail Step 1, Can I Still Match Into Neurological Surgery?
If you failed Step 1, you might wonder if you can still match into neurological surgery. In the most recent program director survey addressing this question, we can see that neurological surgery programs are relatively unforgiving if you’ve failed Step 1.
In 2020, 54% of neurological surgery PDs reported they “never” consider applicants who fail Step 1, while 46% would “seldom” consider it. That being said, 0% of neurological surgery programs “often” consider someone with a Step 1 fail.
Did you fail Step 1 and are wondering what you can do to recover? Read this article and consider scheduling a consultation.
If I Fail Step 2 CK, Can I Still Match into Neurological Surgery?
Similarly, you may wonder what your chances of matching into neurological surgery are if you fail Step 2 CK. Just like with Step 1, neurological surgery PDs are unforgiving for not passing Step 2 CK.
In 2020, 70% of neurological surgery PDs reported they “never” consider applicants who fail Step 2 CK, while 30% would “seldom” consider it. That being said, 0% of neurological surgery programs “often” consider someone with a Step 2 fail.
Did you fail Step 2 CK and wonder what you can do to recover? Read this article and consider scheduling a consultation.
How Many Publications for Neurological Surgery Residency in 2022
Research is an important characteristic for matching into many specialties, particularly the most competitive. So, how many publications do you need to match into a neurological surgery residency?
In 2022, the mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications for US seniors who matched into neurological surgery was 25.5. The mean number of research experiences was 6.6.
Do I Need an MD-PhD to Become a Neurological Surgeon?
You may wonder how much an MD-PhD helps with matching into neurological surgery. It appears that having a PhD correlates with a moderate advantage of 7% when applying into neurological surgery. Specifically, the match rate for those with a PhD is 7% higher than for those without one when applying into neurological surgery.
Note that those with PhDs are relatively rare among neurological surgery residents. In fact, 7% of matched applicants into neurological surgery had a PhD in 2022.
Neurological Surgery Residency Interviews
When you apply to neurological surgery, you may be wondering what the chances of getting an interview are. Here we present the outcomes of applicants per the 2021 NRMP Program Director Survey.
Note that neurological surgery uses standardized screens to reduce the number of applicants. Roughly 38% of applicants that year were eliminated via a screen (e.g., Step 2 CK scores, visa status, failed a USMLE in the past, etc.).
When Are Neurological Surgery Residency Interview Invites Sent vs. Conducted?
When you apply to residency, you’ll be doing a lot of waiting. Specifically, you’ll be waiting to hear whether – and when – you will be able to interview.
Want to know when you might expect to hear from neurological surgery programs regarding your residency application? Here are when programs typically extend and conduct interviews. Note that the most recent data are from 2020.
Here are the same data presented differently. Note that due to rounding, sometimes the percentages can add up to more than 100%.
How Many Interviews to Match in Neurological Surgery?
How many interviews to match in neurological surgery with confidence? In 2022, having 15 interviews (and ranking them all on their match list) led to an 86% chance of matching. For even greater safety, though, having 16+ interviews led to a ≥98% chance of matching into neurological surgery for US seniors.
How Many Interviews to Match in Neurological Surgery as a DO?
For DO seniors, because of so few candidates, the numbers become considerably “noisier,” and can’t be interpreted with much confidence.
How Many Interviews to Match in Neurological Surgery as an IMG?
Similar to DOs, because of so few candidates, the numbers become considerably “noisier,” and can’t be interpreted with much confidence.
Concluding Thoughts
Matching into neurological surgery is a challenging proposition. The challenge may feel more daunting if we have perceived weaknesses in our application, or if we want to match in a top program, a desirable location, and/or couples match.
The good news? How to match into neurological surgery depends largely on things you can control – your USMLEs, your clinical performance/MSPEs, whether you fail Step 1 or Step 2 CK, and how much interest you show to programs.
Looking for a Neurological Surgery Residency Advisor?
Looking for a neurological surgery residency advisor? Want help writing your personal statement? Need effective strategies for interviewing? Do you have things on your application – e.g., low USMLE scores, failed USMLEs, no research, IMG status, or others – you need help overcoming?
Be sure to check out our Residency Advisor service.
