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May 2025 Illuminator

Shining a Light on Match News that Matters

This issue of the Illuminator includes:

Call for Proposals for 2025 Transition to Residency Conference Now Open!

Submit proposal by May 23, 2025 at 9:00pm ET

The NRMP® is accepting proposals for its 2025 stakeholder conference, Transition to Residency: Conversations Across the Medical Education Continuum, October 11–12, 2025, in the Nation’s Capital! This year’s theme, Changing World. Changing Vision, invites submissions that focus on:

  • Advocacy: How are you building and championing for learner and resident communities that promote access to care for all the nation’s communities, especially in these times of uncertainty?
  • Innovation in Transition: What projects can you share that are responding to or illuminating changes in the medical education continuum?
  • Wellness: What challenges or successes are you experiencing when addressing learner and faculty well-being, particularly in times of acute change?

Don’t miss your chance to share your insights and innovations with the medical education community. Visit NRMP’s Conference Website to submit your proposal and learn more!

We look forward to interacting with residency and fellowship program directors and staff, as well as medical school deans and learners, and institution and association leadership!

Program and Institution Registration Opens on May 1 at 12 pm ET for the 2026 Main Residency Match

New for the 2026 Match! Registration for institution and program users for the 2026 Main Residency Match will open Thursday, May 1, at 12 p.m. ET. Medical school users and residency applicants will continue to register for the Match on September 15.  

Institution and program users will receive an email when registration opens with instructions on how to register their individual user accounts in the Registration, Ranking, and Results® (R3®) system and activate the institution and programs.

Action needed: Once you have registered your user account and the institution and program(s) have been activated, we need you to update your program information in the Match. The NRMP’s decision to begin registration early for institutions and programs allows updates to the public Program Directory launched last year. With multiple application services, the Program Directory serves as an important, additional resource for residency applicants to begin searching for the application service requirements, program location, links to institution and program websites, NRMP program code, and program types. Opening registration early allows institution and program users to update their Program Directory information in advance of the application, ensuring residency applicants have access to accurate information when researching the programs to which they may apply.  

Program directors in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Vascular Surgery may also begin signing up to participate in the Voluntary Program ROL Lock Pilot for each participating program/track when registration begins.

View the 2026 Main Residency Match calendar for the complete schedule. 

We look forward to supporting you in the Match and welcome you to contact the NRMP Support Team at support@nrmp.org for assistance. 

2026 Main Residency Match and SOAP Calendars

The NRMP has released dates for the 2026 Main Residency Match and Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). The complete calendar of dates is available on the NRMP website. Be sure to check out the Match calendars for each Main Residency Match participant: medical schools, programs and institutions, and applicants.

New program to add to the Match? Review information on Preparing for the Match, including how to add a new program to the Match and submitting a new program form.

We look forward to celebrating Match Day with you on Friday, March 20, 2026! 

NRMP Educational Webinars

Recording available! Voluntary Program Rank Order List Lock Pilot webinar

The NRMP along with representatives from the Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Vascular Surgery specialties, recently hosted a webinar designed to assist participating institutional and program staff in participating in the 2026 Voluntary Program Rank Order List (ROL) Lock pilot.

The webinar provides an overview of the Voluntary Program ROL Lock pilot, discusses key processes, and outlines expectations for participating institutional and program staff. 

The webinar recording is available on the website. We encourage all relevant program staff to learn more and view additional resources for the 2026 Voluntary Program Rank Order List Lock pilot.

Introduction to the 2026 Main Residency Match for Programs webinar

The NRMP is hosting an Introduction to the 2026 Main Residency Match for Residency Programs on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 1 p.m. ET.

NRMP Chief of Match Operations, Jeanette Calli, and Director of Policy and Compliance, Joy Gaabucayan, will host a webinar designed to assist program staff in administering their programs in the Main Residency Match. The webinar will cover introductory information about the Match, updates on policy and process changes for 2026, and support resources. An email with additional information and registration link has been sent to program and institution staff.

New Research Brief and Presentations: NRMP® Explores Holistic Review in Residency Selection and Key Factors in the Ranking and Match Process

The NRMP is pleased to announce the release of a new research brief exploring the role of holistic review in residency selection and how it shapes program director perceptions and decision-making.

Drawing from newly introduced qualitative (free text) questions from the 2024 Program Director Survey, the brief provides valuable insights into how holistic review is defined and applied in practice. The findings offer a deeper understanding into what holistic review means to program directors and how the evolving holistic review practices influence the residency selection process.

This research is part of NRMP’s broader initiative to support applicants, advisors, and program directors with evidence-based resources to evaluate and enhance the use of holistic review in the residency selection process.

In addition to the research brief, NRMP has also released two new presentations:

  • Program Signaling: Functionality, Directionality, and Outcomes in the Match – Presented by Sheila Pakdaman, PhD, MS (NRMP), Dana Dunleavy, PhD (AAMC), and Daniel Jurich, PhD (NBME), this presentation explores prior research on program signals and introduces new analyses on their current impact on ranking and Match outcomes.
  • Applicant Characteristics Associated with Program Rank Order Lists – In this presentation, Sara Balestrieri, PhD, ScM (NRMP) and Christopher Feddock, MD, MBA, MS (NBME) examine how key applicant characteristics — such as applicant type and USMLE performance — shape residency program rankings.

Policy Corner: The Importance of Match Policy

Every month in the Illuminator, we use the Policy Corner to provide timely tips and guidance about Match policies and procedures to help constituents navigate through each phase of the NRMP’s Matching Programs. What we haven’t done is share why we think Match policy is so important. Consider the following:

NRMP implements policies that are central to processing a Match

The NRMP is deeply committed to implementing policies that ensure all Match participants have a clear path through the matching process. That includes building policies that highlight the unique eligibility requirements for Match participation and emphasize the right of every individual to rank confidentially and without coercion.

NRMP implements policies central to maintaining fairness and transparency across the transition to residency

The NRMP also has been the steward of policies that speak to the entire transition to residency experience. We believe applicants and programs deserve access to honest information about each other that drives informed decisions about recruitment, matching, and training. Match participants also deserve a level of professionalism that respects and fosters healthy communication and interpersonal interaction, from interviews all the way through SOAP.

The NRMP is singular in its creation and implementation of a range of policies intended to limit coercion and gamesmanship while advocating for transparency, fairness, and ethical behavior across the transition to residency cycle. And because we know enforcement of Match policies can be consequential for participants, we spend considerable time educating on Match policy and engaging with participants to help them better understand and comply with Match rules. The NRMP recognizes and aims to accommodate the personal and professional experiences that arise for Match participants while also maintaining integrity of Match outcomes and a fair process for all.

We encourage you to visit the NRMP policies page on the NRMP website and read the Why Match Policy Matters page. If you have questions, please contact us at policy@nrmp.org. We are happy to provide whatever assistance and support you need. 

Medical Schools: Verify USMLE/COMLEX Scores by May 15

The NRMP asks medical school officials and administrators to verify and update, if necessary, the USMLE and COMLEX pass status and scores of students and graduates who participated in the 2025 Main Residency Match by May 15, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. Verification in the R3 system ensures that we possess the most accurate applicant data for our reports and publications, including Charting Outcomes in the Match.

Although verification is voluntary, each school that completes the verification process will receive a Characteristics of Matched Seniors report this fall comparing the characteristics of the school’s matched senior students with national percentile information.

View our support guides for step-by-step instructions on how to verify:

MD Medical Schools

DO Medical Schools

To address confidentiality concerns, the Match Participation Agreement states that applicants authorize their medical schools to release, verify, and transmit COMLEX and USMLE test scores to NRMP. In addition, during the Match registration process, applicants may elect not to enter their scores in the R3 system and/or opt out of having their scores used for research.

Upcoming Deadlines

Epilepsy & Clinical Neurophysiology, Hand Surgery

  • May 14, 12:00 p.m. ET: Match Day

Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Headache Medicine

  • May 21, 12:00 p.m. ET: Match Opens

Radiology, Surgical Oncology

  • May 21, 11:59 p.m. ET: Quota Change Deadline