 Avoid
Going Unmatched in the NRMP
Unfortunately, approximately 5 percent of students each year do not match. Fortunately, after the
Match is completed, unfilled programs
still remain. Students who do not match are informed on the Monday prior to Match Day. By this time, every school is aware of all programs that did not fill
up.
Upon being informed that s/he did not match, the student will be
allowed to "scramble" for a match. The student is asked to meet with
the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs immediately to discuss the
situation, evaluate unfilled programs, and plan a strategy. On Tuesday,
the student receives a list of unfilled programs. The student, and
possibly the advisor, gets on the phone. Matches are often secured over
the phone. Very frequently, fine positions are acquired via this
method. Some students do better than they would have had they matched
initially!
Only the unmatched student and a select few in the administration know
which students initially matched. The "scramble" process remains
confidential, and once a student has matched via this process, s/he
he/she is “matched” like everybody else and participates in Match Day.
These are the main reasons for failure to match:
- Failure to list enough "safe"
choices on the matching list - this is by far the most common reason.
Although you may feel sure that you will match at your top choice,
you may increase your chance of not matching by listing only one
program. First, do not underestimate yourself. Even if you do not
think you have much of a chance and if you really want to go
somewhere in particular, go ahead and rank it first. The program may
not get its top ten choices, and you might be number eleven on its
list. It will not negatively impact your chances of matching to less competitive programs lower on your list. Remember, no one but you
will know what rank you matched to. Concurrently, don't make your
list too short. On average, unmatched students' lists were shorter
than matched students' lists. Students selecting highly competitive
specialties are advised to make longer lists.
- A mediocre or fluctuating level of
performance in medical school.
- Poor selection of faculty members
to write letters of recommendation.
Potential reasons for under-matching
(not securing as good a position as you deserve):
- Poorly constructed matching list.
Do not list programs that you do not want. You may find yourself at
a program that you did not really want. Decide whether it is better
to be unmatched than to be matched to a program that you don't want.
Remember that the order in which you rank programs is crucial
to the Match process. Upon casual consideration, one or more
programs may seem fairly equivalent to you, but if you take the time
to consider carefully, you may discover reasons you would rank one
program over another. The Match computer is fair, but it is also
indifferent to anything other than the rank order list provided. If
you rank one program above another, it will put you in the first
program it can without stopping to consider that, after all, maybe
geographic location is more important to you than a higher faculty
to resident ratio.
- Lack of interview or poor
interview.
- Poor counseling regarding where to
apply.
- Poor selection of faculty members
to write your letters of recommendation.
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