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All of the North American organizations (CaRMS,
NRMP, SFMatch, AUA Match) use a mathematical algorithm to run
their residency match. This means that each applicant submits an
electronic list of his/her preferred programs while each
residency program submits a list of its preferred applicants,
and computer software runs “The Match” linking applicants with
their most preferred program that also ranked them high enough
to match.
When it comes to creating and submitting
your rank order list, there are just two things you should keep
in mind:
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KNOW your deadlines and abide by them.
If you miss a Rank Order List deadline, you are not
participating in the match.
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Rank ALL programs that you interviewed
at and would be willing to go to. If you are considering not
ranking a program at which you interviewed, ask yourself the
question: “Would I rather match to this program than go
unmatched?” If the answer is yes, then you should definitely
rank that program, even though it would obviously be a lower
choice.
-
Rank programs in the actual order that
you would prefer to be matched to them, regardless of how
you think they will rank you. This is the only way that the
Match works best.
Example: If you really like Program A best but you
think that you have a better chance of matching to Program
B, you should still list Program A first in your rank order
list. You in no way jeopardize your chances of matching to a
program that you have ranked lower by ranking other programs
above it. Even if you rank Program B last, the system tries
to match you to all of your more highly ranked programs, but
if there is no match with those programs, the system moves
to Program B. If they ranked you highly, you will still
match there with the same probability that you had of
matching there had you ranked them first. DO NOT TRY TO
SECOND GUESS PROGRAM RANKINGS – just go ahead and enter your
rank order list with programs in the exact order that you
prefer them.
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Once you have reflected, created, and
submitted your Rank Order List, avoid second guessing
yourself. The match agencies have shown that applicants who
change their lists at the last minute tend to be less
satisfied with their match.
Next: Match Day
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