322 A Cost Analysis of Medical Students Applying to Neurological Surgery Residency: An Analysis of the Texas STAR Database

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Medical Students applying to competitive residencies such as neurosurgery incur substantial costs associated with interviews, away rotations, and application fees. Researchers in the past have examined the sources of expenses during the residency application cycle, but few studies have compared the expenses prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The TEXAS STAR database was surveyed for applicants of neurosurgical residency programs during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021) and post-pandemic (2022). In total, 66 applicants for the 2021 application cycle and 50 applicants for the 2022 application cycle completed the survey. We compared the application fees, away rotations cost, interview cost, and total expenses as reported by the neurosurgery applicants of the 2021 and 2022 application cycle. A Shapiro-Wilk test was used to test for data normality, and a Mann-Whitney U-Test was used to compare costs during the 2021 and 2022 neurosurgery application cycle. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction in total expenses in 2021 vs 2022 ($3,934 vs $9,860). Interview expenses and away rotation expenses were also decreased in 2021 vs 2022 (interview expenses $786 vs $4511, away rotation $1,083 vs $3,000, p < 0.001). Application fee expenses were not different between the 2021 and 2022 application cycle. Regional stratification revealed the greatest reduction in cost, an $11,908 savings, in the South region for the year of 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant reduction in the total fees associated with the neurosurgical residency application. The use of virtual platforms in place of in-person interviews could lessen the financial burden on applicants and alleviate socioeconomic barriers in the neurosurgical application process even after COVID-19.