AMA guide to Match Day and Match Week

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All of your hard work in medical school and through the residency-application process leads up to these pivotal days that will shape your next few years as a resident, as well as the course of your physician career. But the work is not over. Here’s what to expect—and how to prepare—for this eventful period.

How to navigate Match Day and Match Week

1. Largest Match Day on record: Dive into the 2026 numbers

   1.  The 2026 Main Residency Match® was the largest in the program’s 74-year history, with 44,344 total positions offered—up 2.6% over 2025, which was until this year the highest. There were 1,107 more certified positions offered this year compared with last year, 183 more certified programs and 412 more positions in primary care. Take a deep dive on the NRMP data about this year’s specialty trends, match rates and more. 

2. If you’re feeling disappointed on Match Day, you are not alone

   1. There is no guarantee that things will work out according to your plan come Match Day, in terms of landing your No. 1 ranked choice of residency program. And when they do not, you may feel as though you’re alone in your disappointment, but you are not. Whether you did not match with the residency program or physician specialty you were hoping—or you did not land any match—many great physicians before you have traveled that road. Here’s how to move forward. 

3. What to know about SOAP's last-minute Match options

   1. Come Monday of Match Week, a small percentage of residency applicants will find out that they did not match. While time and space are limited, there is hope for those students. The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) is a vehicle through which eligible unmatched and partially matched applicants in the Main Residency Match apply for and are offered positions that were not filled through the initial matching algorithm. Get up to speed on the process.

4. Match: Which specialties place most residents through SOAP

   1. Nearly 830 programs took part in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) last year. Take a deeper dive into the numbers.

5. What if you don’t match? 4 things you should do

   1. Those who get the unfortunate news that they did not match and who are then unsuccessful in obtaining a position through SOAP, might wonder what their options are for keeping their dreams of a career as a practicing physician alive. Physicians who have worked with unmatched applicants and an applicant who went through the process without landing a Match offered insights on what can be done in the coming year to improve the odds of matching the next time around. Among the tips: consider a new approach, adjusting either your specialty choice, your application packet or both.

6. Match Week FAQ: How to move forward when you don’t match

   1. People who don’t match initially are likely to ask themselves questions like: What do I do now that I haven’t matched? How do I get the medical training I need to move forward with my career? Will preliminary programs help me get to the specialty I want to practice? How does SOAP work? Will I be taken seriously as a physician if I match through SOAP or after a prelim program? What if I still don’t match after SOAP? This outstanding FAQ gathers expert responses on that and many other issues vital to residency applicants who did not land a match.

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