Match Day 2024: Future Doctors Find Residency Programs

Today marks Match Day 2026, as graduating medical students across the United States learned their residency placements, the culmination of a process managed by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The NRMP released initial results for the 2026 Main Residency Match, marking a pivotal moment for aspiring physicians.

The matching process, originating in the 1950s to address a chaotic hiring landscape, utilizes a mathematical algorithm to pair applicants with programs based on ranked preferences. Students submit a ranked list of their preferred programs, and programs reciprocate with their preferred students. The algorithm aims for stable matches, ensuring neither a student nor a program would prefer an alternative pairing over their assigned match.

Match Week began on Monday, March 16th, with students initially notified whether they had matched with a residency program, though not the specific location. For those who did not initially secure a placement, the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) also commenced on Monday, providing an opportunity to fill remaining positions.

The NRMP has made available early insights into key Match outcomes through ADvance Data Tables, and a high-level overview of the 2026 Main Residency Match is also available. Detailed results, broken down by state, specialty, and applicant type, have been published. Further data, including outcomes from the SOAP process, is scheduled for release later this Spring in the Results and Data: 2026 Main Residency Match report.

The program results from 2022-2026 are also available, and the NRMP has published data on the average length of rank order lists for both filled and unfilled programs, as well as matched and unmatched applicants, including international medical graduates (IMGs).