Independent Applicants

Announcement of Results

The NRMP releases information about results of The Match over a five-day period during Match Week (see Schedule of Dates). Match results are available to applicants via the web and require the applicant to enter his/her AAMC ID and password.

Beginning at 12:00 noon eastern time on Monday of Match Week, applicant matched and unmatched information and program filled and unfilled results will be posted to the NRMP's secure, web-based Registration, Ranking, and Results^SM (R3^SM) system, marking the start of the Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program^SM(SOAP^SM). SOAP replaces the "Scramble" and provides a standardized and uniform process for obtaining appointments.

Matched or Unmatched Information

At 12:00 noon on Monday of Match Week, applicants can learn IF they matched to a program on their rank order list by logging in to the R3 system using their AAMC ID and password. Applicants will be presented with one of the following messages on the Applicant Options page:

1. Congratulations, you have matched!

This message will be displayed for any applicant who is "fully" matched, including

• Applicants who listed and matched to a categorical program and applicants who listed and matched to preliminary and advanced programs.
• Applicants who listed only advanced programs on their certified rank order lists and did not list any preliminary positions on a suppliemental rank order list.
• Applicants who included only preliminary programs on their certified rank order lists.

The matching algorithm considers an applicant "matched" if he/she lists only one program type on his/her certified rank order list. Applicants who receive this message will not be eligible to participate in SOAP, nor will they have access to the List of Unfilled Programs.

2. Congratulations, you have matched to an advanced position but not a first year position!

This message will be displayed for any applicant who matched to an advanced position but did not match to a preliminary position listed on a supplemental rank order list. Applicants who receive this message and who are deemed eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match will be eligible to participate in SOAP and will have access to the List of Unfilled Programs. Applicants will not have access to information about unfilled categorical or advanced positions.

3. Congratulations, you have matched to a one- year position!

This message will be displayed for any applicant who matched to a preliminary position but did not match to an advanced position listed on the primary rank order list. Applicants who receive this message and who are deemed eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match will be eligible to participate in SOAP and will have access to the List of Unfilled Programs. Applicants will not have access to information about untilled categorical or preliminary positions.

4. We are sorry, you did not match to any position.

This message will be displayed for any applicant who did not match to a program listed on either the primary or supplemental rank order list. For applicants participating as a partner of a couple, this statement also may be displayed if the applicant listed the 999999999 program code on the primary rank order list to indicate "No Match". Applicants who receive this message and who are deemed eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match will be eligible to participate in SOAP and will have access to the List of Unfilled Programs for any category of unfilled positions.

5. You are NOT matched because you did not submit a certified rank order list.

This message will be displayed for any applicant who registered to participate in The Match but did not certify a rank order list prior to the rank order list certification deadline. Applicants who receive this message and who are deemed eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match will be eligible to participate in SOAP and will have access to the List of Unfilled Programs for any category of unfilled positions.

6. You are NOT matched because you are withdrawn.

This message will be displayed for any applicant who registered to participate in The Match but was withdrawn either by the medical school or by the NRMP. Applicants who are withdrawn because they are ineligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match will not have access to the List of Unfilled Programs or be allowed to participate in SOAP unless by 5:00 p.m. eastern time on the Wednesday prior to Match Week the applicant becomes eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of The Match. Applicants withdrawn by the NRMP because they obtained positions through another Matching service or who withdrew themselves because they accepted positions outside The Match will not have access to the List of Unfilled Programs or be allowed to participate in SOAP.

Information About Unfilled Programs

The NRMP prepares the List of Unfilled Programs by specialty to help unmatched applicants identify unfilled positions. The List is posted to the R3 system at 12:00 noon eastern time on Monday of Match Week and is available only to SOAP-eligible candidates

NRMP Match Results

Applicants can find out at 1:00 p.m. eastern time on Friday of Match Week the specific name of the program(s) to which they matched.

• Log in to the R3 system using your AAMC ID and password, and read the name of the program(s) to which you matched.

Letters of Appointment

After the general announcement of Match results, residency programs forward letters of appointment to all applicants who have obtained appointments to their programs. Applicants are expected to return one copy of the letter of acceptance to the program before the stated deadlines.

Obligations

Both applicants and programs are bound by the results of the Matching Program. According to the Match Participation Agreement, the listing of a program by an applicant on his/her rank order list and the listing of an applicant by a program on the program's rank order list establishes a binding commitment to accept/offer a position if a match results and to start training in good faith (i.e., with the intent to complete the program) on the date specified in the appointment contract. The same binding commitment is established during the Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) if a program offers a position by listing an applicant on its preference list and the applicant accepts that offer. Such appointments are subject to the official employment and published policies of the teaching hospital in effect on the date that the program submits its rank order list or its preference list. Applicants who are unable to honor their binding commitment must request a waiver from the NRMP. Failure of an applicant or a program to honor the binding commitment is a violation of the Match Participation Agreement signed during registration, and penalties may be levied in accordance with the Match Participation Agreement and the NRMP's Violations Policy if a violation is confirmed.

Updated 02/07/2012