At 11am EST today (8am here on the West Coast) applicant Match statuses becomes available and SOAP starts. If you’re looking for a way to distract yourself with interesting material, take a listen to last week’s wonderful Planet Money podcast on matching algorithms called “The Marriage Pact.” The episode starts with a reference to my alma mater Stanford (go cardinal), reviews an innovative dating algorithm, and touches on the NRMP Match system.
On February 1 at 12 noon EST, Rank Order List (ROL) access opens, meaning applicants and programs may begin entering their rank lists at this time. Start now to think about your priorities and specifically, where you will be happiest. Waiting until the last minute and making impulsive changes to your list is not a great idea.
Please make sure to avoid simple missteps in creating your rank order 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 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.
Congrats to all of those who Matched last week! And kudos for those of you who managed to make it through this year’s difficult SOAP.
During SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program) last week, the server crashed, leaving many applicants and programs confused and scrambling (no pun intended). The 2019 Match Week and SOAP schedule was, therefore, revised such that all SOAP offer rounds were postponed and limited to Thursday, March 14.
At the time of this writing, it’s unclear what happened. Rumors are that the volume of participants was greater than in past years, leaving ERAS/AAMC unprepared. This might be the case with the opening of many new medical schools and a continued, relative dearth in the number of residency spots available. Read this article for a controversial – but interesting – take on why.
We’ll probably have to wait for this year’s Match numbers for any answers.
For those first-, second-, and third-year medical students who are trying to pick a specialty, remember to start with the facts: The NRMP published Charting Outcomes of the Match to give applicants an idea of what characteristics successful 2018 Main Residency Match candidates had. While sobering (the mean Step 2 score for successful radiology U.S. senior applicants was 249), the information is valuable as you approach the decision-making process.
If you’re just starting medical school, you can strategically plan your candidacy for success. If you’re more senior, you can decide whether you have the characteristics necessary to pursue a successful Match process.
For those of you who are starting to think about your Match rank order list, please make sure you follow this (simple) strategy: Rank your first choice first, your second second, etc. The Match algorithm is mathematically quite complicated, but because the process always begins with an attempt to match an applicant to the program most preferred on the applicant’s rank list, you do not want to try to “game” the system.
For example, I’ve had applicants tell me that they plan to rank a less preferred institution higher because that program has more residency slots. That’s a no-no. The applicant will actually be harming him/herself with that strategy.
Here’s a video the NRMP created this year to better explain the Match algorithm. Here’s also a less-than-one-minute Guru on the Go© video “NRMP Ranking to Avoid a Spanking” to emphasize your optimal ranking strategy.
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
