As a medical student and, later, a resident physician, you invest years of your life and large sums of money in your training. For those pursuing a postresidency fellowship, the cost of applying and interviewing is yet another one of those investments.
At the outset of fellowship research, dig into FREIDA™—the AMA’s comprehensive residency and fellowship database that includes more than 13,000 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited residency programs. The comprehensive tool offers more than 35 filters to sort programs by location, program type, application information, demographics, benefits, special tracks and more to help applicants find all the programs available within their desired subspecialty throughout the country.
Breaking down application fees
For many prospective fellows, the application process is very similar to the one through which residency positions are found. The majority of fellowship applications are submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
It is worth noting that entire subspecialty areas do not participate in either ERAS or the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Specialties Matching Service, which matches fellows with subspecialty programs. In those instances, the applicant applies directly to the program, which takes more time and effort, but costs less.
For those applying with ERAS, the cost of applications is tiered. The ERAS token, which allows candidates to register in the system, costs $165. In addition, there’s a blanket fee for the first 10 applications that costs $115. From there:
- Applications 11–20 cost $17 each.
- Applications 21–30 cost $20 each.
- Applications numbering 31 or more cost $27 each.
Fees for programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Osteopathic Association are accessed separately. ERAS offers a calculator tool to help determine fees.
For the subspecialty Match, the NRMP assesses a registration fee of $70, which can include up to 20 unique program codes on your rank-order list. For any more than 20 codes, there is an extra rank fee of $30 per program code, up to a maximum 300 ranks. There is an extra $45 per-partner fee to apply as a couple. And for rank-order lists that have 100 or more ranks, there are additional charges as follows:
- $50 for 100–150 ranks.
- $100 for 151–200 ranks.
- $150 for 201–250 ranks.
- $200 for 251–300 ranks.
How many programs will you apply to?
The average number of ACGME-accredited fellowship programs that fellowship applicants apply to varies by subspecialty. On the high end, applicants in the cardiovascular disease subspecialty applied to an average of 90.36 programs. On the low end, those applying in the pulmonary disease (internal medicine) subspecialty applied to an average of 5.45 programs, according to 2026 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
The number of programs to which you apply may also shift based on the type of medical school you attended. For example, in cardiovascular disease, the subspecialty with the largest number of applicants in 2026, at 2,310, graduates of U.S. allopathic medical schools applied to an average of 59.58 ACGME-accredited programs. Graduates of U.S. osteopathic medical schools applied to an average of 94.83 programs, while international medical school graduates (IMGs) applied to an average of 113.72 programs.
One other fee applicants should account for is the $80 it costs to get your transcript for the United States Medical Licensing or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing examinations, plus the cost of sales tax based on the state in which you apply.
What it costs to interview
As is the case with the application process, the cost associated with the fellowship interview process will vary—primarily based on volume, subspecialty and the requirements of the programs with which you’re interviewing.
After the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency, fellowship programs conducted interviews virtually, and some have maintained a virtual interview process.
Some fellowship programs—especially those that run longer—have returned to in-person formats. Others have offered applicants the choice of interviewing virtually or created a “second-look” interview process in which the applicants may be invited to interview in person after program directors have submitted their rank-order lists.
The AAMC guidance for residency and fellowship program directors is that they continue to conduct all interviews, including second-look interviews, virtually, while acknowledging that in-person interviews may make more sense in some circumstances.
You may want to factor in the amount of time you will need to schedule for interviews, which can be time-consuming if they are required to be held in person. Some studies have found that travel for fellowship interviews can result in a week or more of time away from a physician’s residency training.
You also are likely to incur some cost when submitting your own fellowship Match rank-order list. For the NRMP, which handled matches for 81 subspecialties in 2026, that fee is $80 to submit your list.
How to save on interviews
Depending on your subspecialty, you may spend more to interview with more programs. But even if you are required or prefer to conduct your interviews in person, you can save some money by following these tips.
Use your networks. That means staying with friends or family when possible. You also might consider working through your medical school or undergraduate school’s alumni office or social networking groups to see whether any alumni who live in the area would be able to host you.
Make the most of your miles and perks. Sticking with one airline, if possible, will allow you to accumulate the most frequent-flyer miles, especially if you acquire a credit card with a sign-up bonus that allows for the accumulation of miles on everyday purchases. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for associated travel discounts.
AMA members, for instance, can save on car rentals through a number of preferred providers, including Hertz, Thrifty and Dollar, through the AMA Member Benefits PLUS program.
