Overview
Rank all programs you are willing to attend
Ranking tips
Get Advice
You are valuable
The rank list belongs to YOU

Rank lists are entered via the World Wide Web using the NRMP’s Registration, Ranking, and Results (R3) System Currently, applicants enter their rank lists online via the NRMP website. Applicants should check with the NRMP to confirm the date that the ranking function will open and the deadline for entering rank lists. The process is relatively straightforward. The applicant is able to change the list at any time up until the deadline. Generally, applicants should avoid making changes the day of the deadline, as the NRMP cannot guarantee the availability of the web site. Also, applicants should trust their instincts and avoid making last minute changes. The NRMP will not create or in any way modify rank order lists after the deadline, when the R3 System shuts down. Note: the deadline is given in Eastern Standard Time.

Applicants should rank all programs they are willing to attend There really is no reason to try to keep your rank list smaller than the size of all programs you would consider attending. The only programs not on your rank list should be those you would absolutely NOT attend. The applicant does not benefit from a short rank list. For example, if you receive your first choice, it made no difference if you had only one choice on your rank list or twenty programs on your rank list. However, ranking fewer programs, thinking you have a sure spot at a particular program, can be harmful. There are many stories from students who went unmatched because they ranked too few programs. Visit the NRMP web site for information about the impact or rank order list length.

Rank programs in the order you want to attend them Some applicants rank programs in the order that they perceive are the most prestigious. If this is the order you wish to attend the programs, then this is fine. However, do not rank programs you do not want to attend because you do not think you will match with that program. For example if you are really interested in entering Community Hospital, do not rank Big Name University first thinking you really do not have a chance to match there and will end up at Community Hospital in the end. This may seem obvious, but there are stories of unhappy students who are attending programs they were never really interested in, but ranked them thinking they would not match at that institution. Other applicants rank the programs in the order they believe they will be accepted. This method may ensure that an applicant matches at the first program on their rank list, but does not give the applicant what they really want. Remember to put your list in the order YOU want them in. This will give you the best chance of matching at the program you want the most.

Talk to residents, faculty, and advisors You want to make informed decisions when it comes to making your rank list. Consider all the factors you feel to be most important: location, work environment, setting, etc., and then talk with people you trust to help formulate your decision. The ranking process can be the most difficult part of the entire application. Make use of the resources available to you. By calling the house staff office of programs you are deciding between, you can ask for additional names and contact information for residents who may be able to assist in your decision.

You are a valuable commodity As said earlier, the process, from interview to ranking, is similar to a major league baseball draft. Residency programs may contact you to ask how their program fits into your rank list. You may receive phone calls from residents, faculty, or even the program director. Residency programs may express their interest in having you attend their program as their "number one draft pick." Be honest with your contacts. If they ask where you are ranking them, you may answer by telling them that they are first on your list. You may tell them that you have not decided and you are strongly considering their program. If you are not comfortable discussing your rank list with the programs, you should not feel obligated to do so. Be aware that you need to formulate your list according to your own desires. Do not feel pressured to rank a program because you may have had contact with a program. Remember that a program may customarily call a huge number of applicants. Just because a program tells an applicant that they will be ranked #1, there is no binding agreement that the program must rank that applicant first. The only binding agreement is made in the Match itself. Agreeements before Match day are not allowed by the NRMP.

The rank list is yours alone This may be the most important piece of advice for applicants. Remember that the rank list belongs to you. As important as your family, friends, advisors, and classmates are to you, the rank list belongs to the applicant. It will be you that will have to live with the decision to train at a residency program. You will be the one answering pages at 2 AM in a given hospital, working with residents in an institution, and living in a particular region of the country. You must make the decisions. After you have entered your list, no one will ever know the order in which you ranked the programs. Your future program director will never know whether you ranked their program first or dead last.