Accepted Admissions Blog

The National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) announced the results of the 2017 Main Residency Match, which was the biggest in its history. A record number of U.S. and international med students and graduates (35,969) competed for the largest number of positions offered (31,757). The number of available first year (PGY-1) positions grew by 989 to 28,849.

The Match Process

Beginning in the fall of their final year of medical school, applicants send applications to their chosen residency programs, interviewing with the programs throughout fall and early winter.

From mid-January through late February applicants and program directors rank each other in order of preference and present the preference list to NRMP, which processes them to match applicants with programs.

Match Day is when applicants find out the location and specialty of the U.S. residency program where they will spend the next three to seven years learning. It has become a tradition for seniors at U.S. allopathic medical schools to hold Match Day ceremonies and to open their Match letters in the presence of family, friends, and advisors.

Here are some highlights of the 2017 Program:

• NRMP implemented a policy in 2012 requiring Match-participating programs to place all positions in the Match. This has led to an increase in the number of primary care positions offered in the last six years. Internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics have increased by 28.5%, adding 2,900 positions.

• Internal medicine programs filled 7,101 (95.8%) positions. U.S. allopathic seniors filled 44.9% of these positions.

• Family medicine programs filled 3,215 (95.8%) of positions. U.S. allopathic seniors took 1,513 (45.1%) of these positions.

• Pediatric programs filled 2,693 (98.4%) positions. U.S. allopathic seniors filled 1.849 (67.5%) positions.

• Emergency medicine filled all but six of their 1,495 positions, 61.7% by U.S. seniors.

• Psychiatry filled all but four spots.

• The increase in Match registrants was due mainly to growth in US allopathic medical school seniors and students/graduates of U.S. osteopathic medical schools.

• The number of U.S. allopathic med school seniors that registered for the Match was 19,030, which was 362 more than last year. A record high of 18,539 submitted program choices and 17,480 (94.3%) matched to first-year positions.

• The number of U.S. osteopathic med applicants participating in the match was the highest ever at 5,000. 3,590 students submitted program choices, of which 2,933 (81.7%) matched to PGY-1 positions. This is a record number of PGY-1 matches.

• The number of U.S. citizen international medical school students and grads (IMGs) who matched to PGY-1 position was 2,777, the highest rate since 2004.

• The number of non-U.S. citizen IMGs who matched to PGY-1 positions was 3,814. This was the highest match rate since 2005.

• Candidates who did not receive a match participated in the NRMP Match Week Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) to try to get an unfilled position. This year, 1,177 of the 1,279 unfilled positions were proffered during SOAP. SOAP results will be available in May.

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Related Resources:

• Dear Diary: A Residency Admissions Tip for Third-Year Medical Students
• After the Match: How to Prepare for Residency
• Residency Admissions: What if I Didn’t Match