Match Week is an incredibly exciting and nerve-racking time for medical students. On Match Day, you will find out, along with your peers, where you will complete your upcoming years of residency and potentially continue your career. But for some students, Match Week brings devastating news—no match. Students who do not match at the beginning of Match Week need to participate in SOAP, the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program.
SOAP gives unmatched students another shot at matching with a residency program in a whirlwind week of new applications and interviews. Our SOAP Guide covers the Match Week process, strategies for SOAP success, and answers to frequently asked questions about SOAP.
The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), a service of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), is the channel through which qualified unmatched applicants in the Main Residency Match apply for and are offered the positions that weren’t filled during the initial matching algorithm.
All Main Residency Match applicants will receive an email notification of their SOAP eligibility on the Friday before Match Week. In 2026, SOAP will take place from March 16 to 20. There will be four rounds of SOAP.
If you weren’t matched when the initial matching algorithm was processed, you can use FREIDA™, the AMA Residency & Fellowship Database®, to research residencies from over 12,000 programs both during and following SOAP. Registration is required, and access is free, but additional benefits, such as the dashboard that enables applicants to save, rank, and take notes on each program, are only available to AMA members.
Match Week takes place during the third week of March. It begins at 10 am ET on Monday and ends at 12 pm ET on Friday (Match Day)—when the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) releases the Match results simultaneously to graduating medical students.
On the Monday of Match Week, applicants will find out at 10 am whether they matched, but not where. The Match status notification is sent by email to applicants. Applicants can also use a mobile device to access their Match status in the Registration, Ranking, and Results® (R3®) system.
Following the Match Status Notification, unmatched or partially matched applicants spend Monday through Thursday applying and interviewing for unfilled positions. On Monday, applicants start to put together their applications. On Tuesday, programs begin reviewing applications. On Wednesday, programs begin interviewing applicants. On Thursday, programs start to make offers.
On Match Day (Friday) at 12 pm ET, Match results are sent by email to applicants who initially matched, as well as to applicants who matched through SOAP. Applicants can also use their mobile device to view their results in the R3 program.
The entire SOAP process lasts only a few hectic days, so you need to be prepared. If you believe you may not match, you should begin preparing additional materials for your SOAP applications the month before Match Week. This might include obtaining additional letters of recommendation or editing your personal statement to be tailored to a different specialty.
Leading up to Match Week, brush up on some of your residency interview skills. Go over your answers to common residency interview questions, practice them, check your body language, and ensure your professional attire is clean and ready to go. As soon as you find out you need to participate in SOAP, double down on these efforts and prepare yourself for a whirlwind of short-notice interviews.
You must have a clear schedule during Match Week in order to participate successfully in SOAP. Don’t plan any events or trips around this time, and if you have a job, ask for the days off work.
You’ll need to submit 45 applications as soon as possible on Monday, and in the days that follow, you’ll need to be available for potential interviews. It’s a stressful and speedy process that will require all of your attention.
The availability of openings drops radically during the second round of SOAP. For this reason, it’s not a good tactic to wait and hope for something better. It’s best to accept the first offer you receive, as fewer offers will go out in subsequent rounds.
You will be able to apply to 45 Match participating programs in total between Monday and Thursday. You can apply to new programs as well as reapply to the programs you applied to during the ERAS 2026 season. You can only apply to programs participating in SOAP that have unfilled positions you’re qualified for.
Although you aren’t required to apply to all 45 programs, it’s a good idea to do so in order to maximize your chance of matching during SOAP. Fill out each application and broaden your horizons beyond what you thought was ideal. Even if you don’t think it’s a program you want, strongly consider it since this is your last shot to match this year.
Choose your programs wisely and make sure you are an eligible applicant. For example, not all programs accept IMGs.
Submit your 45 applications as soon as possible on Monday to be among the first group of candidates that residency programs review. This will give you the best chance of acceptance.
If you do not match on Match Day and need to participate in SOAP, it is very likely that you won’t end up in your ideal specialty or location. This is sure to feel disappointing, but do what you can to stay positive and be open to other possibilities.
Perform a modified SWOT analysis.
You may not end up where you thought you wanted to go, but you might end up liking it more than you expected. It’s possible you’ll enjoy a different specialty or love a city you hadn’t considered before. What’s important at this point is that you match somewhere so that you can continue gaining the residency experience you need for your degree.
Understandably, you will have a lot of emotions to deal with after just finding out you did not match. You will feel uncertain and may seek distractions. Resist the urge to turn to social media.
You will most certainly see posts from many close friends and acquaintances celebrating their match, and you may be happy for them, but this is an added distraction and another emotional rollercoaster you don’t need at this crucial time.
Instead, focus your energy on your own circle of control. You have a busy week of SOAP ahead, and you’ll need all your attention focused on making smart application decisions and nailing your SOAP interviews.
The 2025 Match offered 43,237 positions, the largest number in NRMP’s 73-year history. Of those, an all-time high of 40,764 were PGY-1 positions—1,547 over 2024. Of the 2,521 positions placed in SOAP, 2,318 (92.0%) positions were filled.
965 of the SOAP positions were PGY-1 only: 549 Preliminary Surgery, 146 Preliminary Medicine, 9 Preliminary Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1 Preliminary Pediatrics, and 260 Transitional Year.
Other specialties with large numbers of positions in SOAP were Family Medicine (805), Internal Medicine (359 categorical and 11 primary), and Pediatrics (144 categorical and 3 primary).
Common PGY-1 specialties filled through SOAP in 2025:
Residents who are matched into a PGY-1 position will spend a year in a more general discipline to begin their training and enter their chosen specialty in their second year of residency. This means those applicants will have to participate in the Match again the following year for a year-2 (PGY-2) advanced postgraduate position.
The most common PGY-1 only positions in 2025 were Family Medicine and Preliminary Surgery. Typically, there are not very many PGY-2 positions available in SOAP. Of the 36 PGY-2 positions available, 31 were filled—15 of which were in Diagnostic Radiology.
This is how the applicant participant types broke down in 2025:
Offers are extended to applicants from participating programs in a series of 4 rounds. 203Â positions were left unfilled at the end of SOAP in 2025.
You won’t receive any feedback from the NRMP as to why you didn’t match. Ultimately, it comes down to other medical students being stronger, more desirable options for residency programs.
It may be possible to speak with mentors or faculty during the SOAP process to learn more about the weaknesses in your application. If you don’t match during SOAP or if your Match is PGY-1 only, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your application will play a critical role in improving it for next time.
To be eligible for SOAP, you must:
Each sponsoring institution may have additional eligibility requirements.
You will not need to pay any application fees during SOAP if you applied to at least one residency program during the ERAS 2025-2026 season by Monday of Match Week, at 6:30 am ET.
If you did not apply to any residency programs through the ERAS by that time and are eligible for SOAP, you will be required to pay a fee of $99.
If you haven’t sent your USMLE or COMLEX-USA transcripts, you will be required to pay a fee of $80 per transcript.
Yes, you can reapply to the programs you applied to during the ERAS 2025-2026 season. The program must be participating in SOAP and have unfilled positions that you’re qualified for.
Do not contact any programs directly during the SOAP process. This will show that you are not following the rules outlined by the NRMP. Programs must initiate contact with you.
You can check the list of unfilled spots and contact these residency programs directly after SOAP concludes, but it is very unlikely you will receive an offer at this point.
Not matching in SOAP can be heartbreaking, but don’t give up. No matter how devastated you may feel, remember that this is only one small bump in the road. There are so many ways you can make the most of this and turn everything around by creating new opportunities for yourself.
You can’t care for patients unless you’re in residency, but there are many other options to pursue. Stay in touch with your medical school and ask the dean and others for help. Look for mentors at your school who work in the field you’re interested in pursuing, and volunteer. Get involved in a research project if you can; however, understand that your time between finding out that you didn’t match and reapplying is limited.
You could even use this bump in the road to explore other exciting opportunities in medical technology or serve as a medical consultant for a Silicon Valley startup.
You may choose not to participate in SOAP. Some students choose to refocus their efforts on improving their application for next year’s Match or even the year after.
Completing more research is possible, but you’re on a tight schedule. You’ll need to reapply using ERAS in September, which doesn’t give you much time to complete notable research that same year. However, it is possible, and some people choose to spend two years on research to make significant improvements to their residency application.
If you had the misfortune of not matching into a residency program this year, it is of the utmost importance that you reassess your application for weak areas so that you can make drastic improvements for next year.
Med School Insiders can help you prepare a standout residency application. We offer a number of Residency Admissions Consulting Services tailored to your needs, including personal statement editing, USMLE tutoring, interview prep and mock interviews, and overall application editing.
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