Take a peek at the NRMP’s recently-published Results and Data: Specialty Matching Service. This information is not as granular or useful as Charting Outcomes of the Match (focused on the residency Match), but it’s still helpful to see what percentage of a subspecialty goes unfilled. (Geriatrics had 77% unfilled in the most recent cycle. Gastroenterology had 1.5%.) The trends year over year are also instructive.
Blog Archives
The NRMP Rank Order List Due Date is Fast Approaching: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
The rank list deadline is March 4, 2026 at 9 PM EST, however waiting until the last minute and making impulsive changes to your list is not a great idea ;).
Ensure you avoid simple missteps in creating your list. Improving written materials and interview skills is important, but all of that work can go down the drain if applicants do not understand basic strategies for the Match. In November 2015, the NRMP published an article called, “Understanding the Interview and Ranking Behaviors of Unmatched International Medical Students and Graduates in the 2013 Main Residency Match” in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. The data is still relevant today and especially important for IMGs who represented the majority of unmatched candidates.
Sadly, the authors found that some applicants made strategic errors including the below:
– Not attending all interviews, thus failing to capitalize on every opportunity to market themselves.
– Declining to rank all programs at which they interviewed or not ranking all programs they would be willing to attend.
– Misunderstanding the Match and ranking programs at which applicants did not interview.
– Failing to rank programs based on true preferences or ranking programs based on the perceived likelihood of matching.
Here is a video explanation of the Match algorithm. If you do not understand how the Match works, it is absolutely critical that you learn about it to avoid destructive errors.
Tags: Match, NRMP, Rank Order, ranking residency programs
Residency Applicant Characteristics: Key Differences Between Those who are Ranked Highly and Those who Aren’t
The NRMP posted a webinar on applicant characteristics associated with success and failure in the recent Match, specifically focusing on Family Medicine, OB/GYN, Otolaryngology, Pathology, and Diagnostic Radiology.
The webinar presents data tracking trends in whom programs (from those five specialties) ranked. NRMP says they hope to help applicants and residency directors gain a clearer understanding of the factors influencing candidate selection. Some of the data is to be expected (average Step 2 scores are higher for Otolaryngology than for Family Medicine), but there there are more specifics offered: Over three quarters of Otolaryngology programs don’t take applicants with Step 2 scores under 225 whereas half of Family Medicine programs take applicants with Step 2 scores as low as 215. There are some other interesting factoids that might guide candidates’ approach to the Match.
Here’s the YouTube link.
Match 2025 Results Are Out
The NRMP® has already published data from last month’s Match. Of note, under 80% of the applicants who submitted a certified rank order lists matched to either a categorical or preliminary year. Match rates specifically for US-citizen and foreign national IMGs were 67.8% and 58.0%, respectively.
My field of emergency medicine did quite well this year, a big contrast from two years ago. (The field is notorious for waxing and waning in popularity over the years.) Primary care specialties also eked out a win.
See more Match statistics here.
Introducing NRMP’s Rank Order List Lock Pilot
In October I wrote a blog entry about the benefits of virtual interviews. One issue that has come up is the concern that those who choose to do in-person interviews may have an advantage compared to candidates who interview virtually. The NRMP has noted this worry and is, consequently, instituting a voluntary Program Rank Order List Lock pilot for internal medicine, pediatrics, and vascular surgery for the 2026 Main Residency Match cycle.
The idea is that programs can choose to finalize their certified Rank Order Lists and then provide time for interviewed applicants to come in-person, thus reassuring candidates that visiting or not visiting will not affect their candidacies.
Here is a statement from NRMP regarding the voluntary pilot. It’s an interesting idea, and I’m curious to see how it will play out.
Tags: Match, NRMP, Rank Order, ranking residency programs
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
