NRMP: Rank Order Lists

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Rank Order Lists

Applicants

All rank order lists (ROLs) for a Match are submitted to the NRMP electronically via the NRMP Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) System. Applicants must certify their ROLs when they are complete to indicate the ROL is ready to be used in the Match.

Using their rank order lists, applicants indicate their preferences from among the programs to which they have applied and wish to attend. The final preferences of program directors and applicants, as reflected on the rank order lists, will determine which positions are offered to which applicants and where the applicants subsequently are matched.

Applicants should list programs in their actual order of preference, beginning with rank #1 for the most preferred program. Their choices should not be influenced by speculation about whether a particular program will rank them high, low, or not at all. The position of a program on an applicant's rank order list will not affect the applicant's position on a program's rank order list.

Applicants must not rank any programs they are unwilling to attend. SMS Match Participation Agreement signed during registration state that applicants and programs are bound by the Match results. Programs are committed to offer an official appointment to each matched applicant who has met their prerequisites and program employment conditions, and applicants are committed to enter the positions to which they have matched.

All applicants will enter their rank order lists via the Web. Access to the NRMP R3 System requires the AAMC ID and NRMP password. Registrants will choose a username and select their own password. Programs should be ranked in sequence, according to the applicant's true preference.

To identify the program codes to be entered on their rank order lists, registered applicants consult the Directory for their Specialty Match after logging in to the R3 system. The Directory is found at the top of the left menu bar.

Certifying the rank order list is the final step in the ranking process. By certifying their lists, applicants indicate that the list is complete and represents the final data that should be used in the matching process. Only certified lists are used in the Match. When applicants have finished entering their lists, they must certify them by clicking the Certify List button located on the My Rank Order List screen and then entering their NRMP password to confirm it.

Changes still can be made to the rank order list after it has been certified. However, once the list has been changed, the new version must be certified in order to be used in the Match. Changes include adding a program to the list, deleting a program from the list, and changing the order of the programs.

Please note: The R3 System does not retain previous versions of a rank order list regardless of whether the list was certified. The list currently displayed on the screen upon logging in is the only version the NRMP has on file. After the rank order list deadline, the NRMP will not add, delete, or move programs or in any way modify a rank order list.

Couples

Each partner of a couple enrolls individually in the Match and indicates in the NRMP R3 System that they want to participate in the Match as a couple. The NRMP allows couples to form pairs of choices on their rank order lists, which then are considered in rank order in the Match. The couple will match to the most preferred pair of programs on the rank order lists where each partner has been offered a position.

Couples can be matched into a combination of programs suited to their personal needs. In creating pairs of programs, couples can mix specialties and geographic locations. The partners can be matched into positions in the same institution or in different institutions. Examples are shown below.

Couples Rank Order List

Each partner must have the same number of ranks. Each program ranked must be paired with an active program or by an indication of "No Match" (NRMP Program Code = 888888888) by the other partner, which means that one partner is willing to go unmatched if the other matches to a position in the program designated at that rank.

Note: Partners listed as a couple are treated by the matching algorithm solely as a couple. If they do not obtain a match as a couple, the system will not run their lists separately to find a possible match for each individual.

If one partner wishes to withdraw from the Match, BOTH partners must uncouple before either can withdraw. The remaining partner should adjust his or her rank order list accordingly and must recertify it before it can be used in the Match.

Couples are encouraged to complete couples worksheets (PDF, 2 pages - 179KB) before entering choices in R3.

Example: Couple's Rank Order List of Paired Programs

Read the instructions and example below before planning the worksheet.

Special procedures are necessary to match couples to positions. The Match allows couples to form pairs of choices that are considered in rank order in the Match. Each partner's side of the list must have an equal number of ranks. Both members of the couple must be active applicants in the Match.

Step 1
Each partner should first arrange an individual preference list on separate sheets of paper. In the example, the letters refer to a specific program in a particular hospital in that city.
Partner I 1) New York City - A 2) Chicago - A 3) Evanston - B 4) Los Angeles - A 5) New York City - B	Partner II 1) Chicago - X 2) Chicago - Y 3) Boston - X 4) Chicago - Z 5) New York City - X 6) New York City - Y

Step 2
Next, both partners must decide together how to prepare their lists as pairs of programs. For example, they could consider all the possible pairings where the hospital programs are in the same general location, as indicated in the list below. In some cases one rank in the pair may be designated "No Match" to indicate that one partner is willing to go unmatched if the other is matched to a position. Note that the list below is not necessarily in the order that will eventually be submitted.
Partner I New York City - A New York City - A Chicago - A Chicago -A Chicago -A Evanston -B Evanston -B Evanston -B New York City -B New York City -B New York City -A Chicago -A Evanston - B Los Angeles -A New York City -B No Match No Match No Match No Match No Match	Partner II New York City -X New York City -Y Chicago -X Chicago -Y Chicago -Z Chicago -X Chicago -Y Chicago -Z New York City -X New York City -Y No Match No Match No Match No Match No Match Chicago - X Chicago -Y Boston -X Chicago -Z New York City -X

Step 3
Now both partners decide the order in which these pairs are preferred. They might have a final Couples Rank Order List of Paired Programs that looks like this:
Partner I 1) Chicago -A* 2) Chicago -A* 3) Chicago -A* 4) Evanston -B 5) Evanston -B 6) Evanston -B 7) New York City -A* 8) New York City -A* 9) New York City -B* 10) New York City -B* 11) New York City -A* 12) No Match 13) No Match 14) Chicago -A 15) No Match 16) Evanston -B 17) No Match 18) Los Angeles -A 19) No Match 20) New York City -B*	Partner II 1) Chicago -X *2) Chicago -Y Match** 3) Chicago -Z 4) Chicago -X 5) Chicago -Y* 6) Chicago -Z 7) New York City -X* 8) New York City -Y 9) New York City -X* 10) New York City -Y 11) No Match 12) Chicago -X 13) Chicago -Y* 14) No Match 15) Boston -X 16) No Match 17) Chicago -Z 18) No Match 19) New York City -X* 20) No Match

The couple will match to the most preferred pair on their list where each partner has been offered a position. [Note: choices 11 through 20 indicate that one partner is willing to go unmatched if the other is matched to a position.]

If Partner I has offer from Chicago-A, New York City-A, and New York City-B, and Partner II has offers from Chicago-Y and New York City-X, then this couple will match to the pair of programs that were ranked second. If the Chicago programs had not accepted both partners, their match would have been their seventh pair in New York City.

Summary of Guidelines for the Preparation of Applicant Rank Order Lists

Applicants are advised to include on their rank order lists only those programs that represent their true preferences.

Programs should be ranked in sequence, according to the applicant's true preferences.
Factors to consider in determining the number of programs to rank include the competitiveness of the specialty, the competition for the specific programs being ranked, and the applicant's qualifications. In most instances, the issue is not the actual number of programs being ranked but rather whether to add one or more additional programs to the list in order to reduce the likelihood of being unmatched.
Applicants are advised to rank all programs deemed acceptable, i.e., programs where they would be happy to undertake fellowship training. Conversely, if an applicant finds certain programs unacceptable and is not interested in accepting offers from those programs, the program(s) should not be included on the applicant's rank order list.
It is highly unlikely that either applicants or programs will be able to influence the outcome of the Match in their favor by submitting a list that differs from their true preferences.

Refer to the Dates of NRMP Matches for your rank order list deadline.

Program Directors

All rank order lists for a Match are submitted to NRMP electronically via the R3 System.

The rank order list is the vehicle program directors use to indicate their preferences for the applicants they have evaluated. All applicants should be ranked in preferential order, beginning with rank order #1 for the most suitable applicant.

An applicant's AAMC ID can be found by using the applicant search function. Click on the Find and Add Applicants tab and insert the applicant's name (preferably the last name because the system works easiest with minimal information). Click the "Submit" button, which will retrieve the applicant's AAMC ID.

Certifying the rank order list is the final step in the ranking process. By certifying their lists, program directors indicate that the list is complete and represents the final data that should be used in the matching process. Only certified lists are used in the Match. When program directors have finished entering their lists, they must certify them by clicking the Certify List button located on the Maintain Rank Order List screen and then entering their NRMP password to confirm it.

Changes still can be made to the rank order list after it has been certified. However, once the list has been changed, the new version must be certified in order to be used in the Match. Changes include adding an applicant to the list, deleting an applicant from the list, and changing the order of the applicants

Please note: The R3 System does not retain previous versions of a rank order list regardless of whether the list was certified. The list currently displayed on the screen upon logging in is the only version on file with the NRMP. After the rank order list deadline, the NRMP will not add, delete, or move applicants in any way modify a rank order list.

NOTE: Refer to the Dates of NRMP Matches for your rank order list deadline.

If There Are No Applicants To Rank

Program directors who do not wish to rank any applicant should certify their rank order list with no ranks so the NRMP knows it is not an oversight that no applicants have been ranked. Programs that fail to submit rank order lists and do not withdraw will appear in the Match Results as having unfilled positions available to unmatched applicants.

Fees

There is no charge to programs or applicants for entering their rank order lists for the specialty matches. The registration fee covers registration, submission of rank order lists, and access to Match Results.

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Updated 05/01/2013

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