What is the Couples Match?
The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) allows any two people in the match to link their rank list. You create your rank list together, and the system guarantees that you will be placed in a combination that you have chosen. Both applicants will match at the highest rank combination in which both have been accepted. In order to sign up for the Couples Match, you must designate it on your NRMP match list. You do not have to decide to Couples Match until you submit your match list. The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application does not require any information about Couples Matching.
Who can participate in a Couples Match?
Anyone two people can agree to Couples Match! Married couples, engaged couples, dating couples, best friends or enemies. You can Couples Match with a person from another school, i.e., a Dartmouth-Brown person. You do not need to be married or have any formal documentation of a relationship. In the case of best friends or couples that want to be in the same program/area, you coordinate your match list so that you can be near each other. As for enemies, they may chose to coordinate their lists so that, if one person is on the east coast, the other person will be on the west coast to insure a good 3000 miles between the two. As a couple, the NRMP will find your highest ranked choice combination that you both match.
How many applicants Couples Match?
What is the matching success rate of couples?
(from the NRMP Results and Data 2000 Match booklet)
When do we need to decide we are Couples matching?
You don’t officially need to decide until you enter your Rank Order List (ROL) in mid-February. It’s best, however, to make the decision to Couples Match earlier rather than later. It is to your advantage most of the time (see the “Informing Programs of Couples match Status” section below). Programs want to know this information. It helps with setting up interview dates (see the “Interviews” section below).
What are the fees to enter the Couples match?
- $40 per person to enter match. This fee is paid in the summer. Everyone pays it regardless of being a couple or not.
- $15 per person when entering rank list. This is paid by couples only.
- $30 per person per program when you rank greater than 15 programs. You do not have to pay extra if you have over 15 combinations, it just means programs.
Should I take a year off or go ahead?
If one partner is a year ahead of the other, it is often a good idea for the partner ahead to take a year off in order to be able to Couples Match. If the partner goes ahead, then they need to apply to places that have a variety of programs. And they may need to be willing to transfer. It is seems to be MUCH easier to go through the process together. There are plenty of things to do during an extra year. Some examples of what students have done while waiting for their partners include: Student Fellowship, longterm international electives, Masters of Public Health (MPH), split fourth year and do extra electives (need to be somewhat spaced out over the two years – ask the registrar about details), split fourth year and take Spanish, split fourth year and have a baby. There are endless possibilities and residency programs seem to understand and even support partners taking an extra year for the purpose of Couples Matching. It is easier for the program if you couples match than if you get to their program and then need that institution, or an institution nearby, to accept your partner the following year.
What about matching with someone in the military?
This cannot be done through the couples match. The military has their own match system and the applicants find out where they are going in December.
What about matching with someone who is applying in an early match specialty?
The early match specialties include Neurology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery and Urology. These applicants apply through SFMATCH (www.SFMATCH.org), except Urology which applies through AUANET (auanet.org/students/match). Most of these specialties find out where they have matched in late January. Although it is not possible to Couples Match for the advanced specialty, many of these early match specialties require a preliminary or transitional year, which CAN be linked through the couples match (see “What happens if we are applying for preliminary/transitional years and advanced residencies?” in the “Making the Rank List” section below).
The Application Process
When should we apply?
APPLY EARLY!!!! The ERAS application is available on the web starting in August/September. Try to get your application certified in the first week or so that it is available. Applying early allows you the maximum flexibility in scheduling interviews. Since you are Couples Matching, you will be applying to many programs. The earlier you get interview invitations, the easier it is to coordinate your interview dates with your partner. Most specialties send out invitations (usually via email) starting in late September/October (they do not necessarily wait for the Dean’s Letter to invite you).
To how many programs should we apply?
Aim to rank 15 programs each. This means that you should apply to at least 25-30 each (the number depends on how many programs actually exist in your specialty). It seems like a lot, but consider that, in order to rank a place, both of you must get an interview at your respective programs and both must like the programs and the city or area of the programs. Then in order to match at the programs, both of the programs must like both of you. Cluster them in geographical areas as we discuss in the “How do we choose programs?” section. You don’t have to interview at all of them, but you do want to interview at as many as you can tolerate so as to maximize possible combinations.
How do we choose programs?
1. Reputation
2. Geography
a. proximity to family
b. willingness to commute
If you plan to live together, try to aim for a maximum of 50 miles or so between programs. That way you can live in between and each partner will have about a 25-mile commute. The Boston, Providence, Worcester (U Mass) triangle is an example of this, and has been done by many couples. If Boston is included, most couples live closer to Boston, because it takes longer to commute into Boston than into Providence or Worcester. The Providence and Worcester combination is reputed to be easiest, because there is not as much traffic. Be sure that there is a place to live that is half way between the two programs. Consider Albuquerque and Santa Fe, between which there are very few towns, and those that exist are much closer to Albuquerque. Also think of conditions that might lengthen the commuting time, i.e. weather possibilities, traffic and quality of roads.
In addition, consider if you want to live near where you work. If it is important that your social life be connected to your colleagues, you may not want to live 30 minutes from the hospital. It might mean having to drive a distance if you want to meet a fellow resident for dinner or if you want to play in a resident soccer game, for example. Also, if your partner is driving 30 minutes in the opposite direction, it might be hard to meet each other’s fellow residents.
Consider, also, the benefit of working in the same hospital. It would be easier to meet for meals or to trade car keys or whatever else you need to do as a couple. Also, it makes it easier to meet each other’s friends.
On the other hand, if you are applying in the same specialty, you may not want to be at the same hospital, because that means the same program. You might need to make an effort to be scheduled for different rotations, so you don’t find yourself working together. You may prefer to work together, but it would mean being on call on rotating nights, which would lead to less time together outside of the hospital.
Who decides how far apart a couple will be?
You do. Because you coordinate your match list, you set the limits of distance. You don't have to match at the same hospital, same institution, the same city, or even the same side of the country. See “Making the Rank List” section below.
Informing Programs of Couples match Status
Are we required to inform programs of our Couples match status?
No. You are not required to tell programs you are Couples Matching. The programs will not know you are Couples Matching unless you inform them. You could actually wait until the Rank Order List is due in mid-February to decide whether or not you are going to Couples Match, and still the programs will not know unless you personally tell them. Only the NRMP will know.
You can find program-specific recommendations in FREIDA, a website with information about residency programs (www.ama-assn.org/freida). For example, Beth Israel Deaconness Internal Medicine program encourages applicants to indicate if they are Couples Matching by writing it at the bottom of the personal statement.
Is there any benefit to informing a program that we are Couples Matching?
Yes, sometimes. It will make it easier to coordinate interview dates and obtain interviews at the same institutions (see the “Interviews” section below). Programs deal with couples differently. For example, many programs like couples, because they come together and are usually happier residents. A particular program, for instance, may lobby to get a partner an interview. Let’s say that Internal Medicine wants to interview Partner A, but A is Couples Matching with Partner B who is applying in Orthopaedics. The Internal Medicine program may then contact the Orthopaedics program to get person B an interview.
Another scenario is if two applicants are applying in the same specialty, let’s say Pediatrics, at the same institution. The Pediatrics program may treat the couple as individual applicants throughout the process, until the program draws up their own rank list after the interviews. If Partner A is ranked 25 on their list and Partner B is ranked 60, they will either move Partner B up, Partner A down, or put them both somewhere in between.
A program may communicate with another department after it has made its rank list. If a program really likes an applicant (Partner A) and the program knows s/he is Couples Matching, the program may call the other department and find out where the other applicant (Partner B) sits on the rank list. This might help to improve Partner B’s rank on his/her program’s rank list. If the program breaks up its list in quartiles, for example, a call from another department may not move Partner B from the second quartile to the first quartile, but it may bump them up a few numbers within their established quartile. Some students have been told that usually the stronger applicant carries the weaker one; so it is unlikely that an applicant will be bumped down on the rank list because of a weaker applicant. Remember, the movement happen only if the programs communicate with each other (some do and some don’t) and they know to communicate only if you have told them that you are Couples matching and with whom.
Is there any harm in informing programs that we are Couples matching?
Not likely. We can think of a couple of scenarios. One is if a program is small and would prefer not to take more than one student from a particular school. If both applicants are strong, this might not be an issue, but it is a consideration. We have also heard of a real life scenario where a same gender couple was concerned about discrimination if they mentioned they were Couples Matching. In the end, the couple decided to tell the programs, because they realized if they felt discriminated against at a certain program, they probably would not be happy at that program. Overall, we think there is more benefit than harm that comes from informing programs that you are Couples Matching.
When can we inform programs that we are Couples Matching?
- Personal statement
We have heard some advisors recommend writing that you are Couples Matching, with the name and specialty of your partner, in your personal statement. We do not know of anyone who has done this, because it seems hard to fit it in, but it’s an option.
- Dean’s letter
A good opportunity to tell the programs officially that you’re Couples matching is in the Dean’s Letter, which has a biographical section. It is safest for the Dean to write your partner’s name, and not the specialty, because people have changed specialties after the Dean’s Letter goes out.
- When scheduling interview
When you call to schedule your interview, it may help to mention you are couples matching if you are trying to coordinate interview dates. Also, the Residency Coordinators often appreciate knowing the information. See Interviews section below for more information on coordinating interviews.
- At the interview
- Tell the residency coordinator and the residency director – give name and specialty of partner. Coordinators often will ask the applicant group if anyone is Couples Matching. We found that there was often at least one other person Couples Matching in the applicant group at each program we visited.
- Consider asking the residency director if departments/institutions contact each other. It’s okay if you don’t ask this (sometimes you might not feel comfortable asking). Some residency directors will explain how the Couples Match works at their program/institution without your having to ask.
- Ask the coordinator or residents if there are couples in the program and which specialty the partner is in. Think about getting in touch with those residents.
- Ask residents about the possibility of coordinating vacations and call schedules. The chief resident is usually responsible for coordinating vacation schedules, so you can ask him/her if you don’t get in contact with a resident who has Couples Matched.
- In thank you/follow-up notes
- Consider mentioning your partner in your thank you note. At the end of the note, after you have written why you liked the program, write something like: My (partner/husband/fiancé/whomever) John Doe who is applying in (whatever specialty), also enjoyed his interview day at the University of SuchandSuch.
- When you finish up your interviews and have made a rank list, you might decide to write a second note to the programs you have decided to rank in your top three or so. In this type of note, you could write a bit about why you have chosen to rank the program highly. For example, after completing our interview trips, my (partner) Janet Doe, who is applying in (whatever specialty) and I have had a chance to discuss the programs and we have found that your program fits our needs, both academically and personally.
Interviews
When should we interview?
Most programs seem to offer interviews in November through mid-late January, depending on the specialty. You will have applied to around 25-30 programs, maybe more depending on your specialty. Try to aim to go to at least 15 interviews, if you have been offered that many. If you are applying to particularly competitive specialties, i.e. Dermatology or Orthopaedics, you might not have that many offers (which is why you might want to start off by applying to more than 30 programs).
Some couples matchers recommend that couples plan on taking all of December and all of January off to interview. Otherwise, you might not have enough time and it may get really hectic and stressful. One approach is to plan to do all the programs in driving distance in December, and then do one big trip to the Midwest and/or west coast in January, or vice versa. If you are planning to interview only in one geographic area, you might not need quite as much time. We recommend interviewing at 2-3 programs per week. If you need to fly or drive a long distance from one city to another, try to give yourself a day in between interviews. It will be winter, in most of the US, so consider the hassles of winter travel when you plan. Also, think about staying in a place for a couple days so you can get to know the city and enjoy the activities it has to offer. Try contacting alum who lives in the city who would host you for a couple of nights. It is fun to stay with someone who knows the city, and if they are in the hospital/program you are applying to, they can give you the inside scoop.
Should we try to coordinate our interviews?
It makes sense to try to schedule your interviews so you can travel together. This will save you money on hotels and car rentals. It’s also more fun and gives you a chance to see if the location offers what you want as a couple. It’s good to have someone to bounce ideas off of as you go. Often we found that our partner could get a sense of how we felt about a program from our excitement or lack there of at the end of an interview day. This reaction is something that is often hard to put into words on an evaluation form (see Residency Program Evaluation Form attached at end).
Some programs, many in Pediatrics and Family Practice, offer to pay for hotel accommodations, so you can interview on consecutive days, if necessary, and each program will cover the hotel room the night before the respective interview.
How do we coordinate our interviews?
As soon as you receive an interview invitation, go ahead and schedule your interview. You can always change it if your partner is unable to schedule an interview around the same time.
If one partner gets an interview and other has not heard for a week or so, call to check on status of application. Tell them you are Couples Matching and wanted to try to coordinate your interview dates.
If one partner is offered an interview at a program and the other is not, you can call your respective program and request an interview. There is nothing wrong with being assertive as long as you are polite and friendly. Explain the situation and, most likely, they’ll be happy to accommodate you. If you are applying in the same specialty and a program wants to interview Partner A but not Partner B, then the program knows it will likely lose person A to another program that has chosen to interview person B also; or if the program ultimately matches person A and but not person B, then person A may not be as happy because s/he's not with person B. Basically, programs want you to be happy and, if being together means being happy, they do what they can to help that happen.
One challenging situation we have seen is when one specialty starts offering interviews later than another. This has happened with Orthopaedics, for example, in which many programs wait to see the Dean’s Letter before offering interviews. This means that if the other person (Partner B) is applying in Pediatrics, for example, s/he might already have 20 interview offers and will likely need to start going to the interviews before Partner A has even heard from programs. This can lead to a lot of wasted time and cost, if Partner A does not end up getting offers at certain programs where Partner B has already interviewed. If you find yourself in this situation, try calling the programs of Partner A to see if s/he can find out early and call Partner A’s programs to see if they can talk to Partner B’s programs and get them to offer an interview. In the end, this might not help, but it could be worth a try.
Making the Rank List
How do we begin to make our Rank Order List (ROL)?
During your interview trip, write notes to remember what you liked and disliked about programs (see Residency Program Evaluation Form attached at the end). One idea is to keep a running ROL, fitting programs in as you visit them.
After you have finished interviewing, it might be helpful for each partner to make a list by ranking programs individually, without considering the other person's favorite programs. This way you figure out where you want to go, for you. After you have a rough list down, you'll need make a combined list, which requires communication and compromise.
Suggestions for making the list
- Fold paper in half lengthwise. One partner writes list on left. Other partner writes list on right. Open paper and compare. Write combined list in the middle.
- Put all of your combinations on index cards (with Partner A's programs in red and Partner B's in blue). Group the cards by geographical areas, and then rearrange the order of the cards to end up with a final ROL.
Determine your priorities
- Living together
If you want to live together, each partner will need to correspond your program with one within commuting distance.
- Going for certain programs that are not near each other
If you are willing to live apart, that is your prerogative. You can also rank top choice programs that are not close together first, and then rank the programs that are close together. This way, if you are not “accepted” at your first choice program, then you would want to be together.
- One partner is set on a particular program
If Partner A has his/her heart set one a particular program, you can organize your list to maximize the chance of him/her matching at that program. An example is if Partner A wants to go to Baylor more than anything, s/he can write Baylor for numbers 1-30. Partner B can then write Baylor for number 1 (so they can be in the same city) and UCLA for number 2 (because that is his/her favorite program) and then other 28 programs to which s/he applied to increase the possibility that Partner A will get his/her first choice. If Baylor does not "accept" Partner A, then the computer will automatically skip down to Partner A's number 31 (which is actually program choice 2), which let's say is UCLA. UCLA "accepts" both of them and that's where they match. This case might happen if Partner B does not want to be responsible for Partner A getting his/her first choice. The couple is willing to live apart so that Partner A has the best shot at going to Baylor.
The above scenario is also an example of why the Couples Match is said to skew the statistics of how well a school does in the match. This couple would technically get their 31st choice, but it would actually be Partner A's second choice and Partner B's first choice.
What happens if we are applying for preliminary/transitional years and advanced residencies?
This is complicated and may require guidance from administrators who have handled this before. The rules are very similar to making a normal ROL, but there are just many more combinations for every preliminary/transitional year. The couple can chose to link only the preliminary/transitional year, only the advanced programs, or both. Once again, as a couple you must decide what your priorities are and whether the location or the program is more important as discussed in the previous sections.
What program you go to for your preliminary/transitional year may not be as important as the advanced program, so it may not be a dramatic compromise to link just the preliminary years, even though linking advanced programs may be out of the question. In a particular specialty, there may be a few advanced programs that are much stronger and may require the couple to be apart. Linking ONLY the preliminary year may also be an option if you are a couple who does not know if you want to be together for the entire residency. You may want another year together to figure out where your relationship is going.
Sample ROL from the NRMP website (http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/senior/couples.htm)
Special procedures are necessary to match couples to positions. The Match allows couples to form pairs of choices that are then considered in rank order in the Match. Each partner's side of the list must have an equal number of ranks. Both members of the couple must be active applicants in the Match.
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The couple will match to the most preferred pair on their list where each partner has been offered a position (the highest common denominator) [Note: choices 11 through 20 indicate that one partner is willing to go unmatched if the other can get a position. Enter 999999 for the program code in these cases.]
If Partner I has offers from Chicago-A, New York City-A, and New York City-B, and Partner II has offers from Chicago-Y and New York City-X, then this couple will match to the pair of programs that were ranked second. If the Chicago programs had not accepted both partners, their match would have been their seventh pair in New York City.
A Summary of Guidelines for the Preparation of Applicant Rank Order Lists from the NRMP website
Applicants are advised to include on their Rank Order List only those programs that represent their true preferences.
- Programs should be ranked in sequence, according to the applicant’s true preferences.
- Factors to consider in determining the number of programs to rank include the competitiveness of the specialty, the competition for the specific programs being ranked, and the applicant’s qualifications. In most instances, the issue is not the actual number of programs being ranked on the Rank Order List, but the dilemma of whether to add one or more additional programs to the list in order to reduce the likelihood of being unmatched.
- Applicants are advised to rank all of the programs deemed acceptable to the applicant, i.e., a program where they would be happy to undertake residency training. Conversely, if an applicant finds certain programs unacceptable and is not interested in accepting offers from these programs, said program(s) should not be included on the applicant’s Rank Order List.
- It is highly unlikely that either applicants or programs will be able to influence the outcome of the match in their favor submitting a list that differs from their true preferences.
Submitting Rank Order Lists
All applicants will enter their Rank Order Lists via WebROLIC after signing on from the Main Match Registrants area. Access to the NRMP Rank Order List and Input System (ROLIC) requires your NRMP code and PIN, assigned during enrollment to the Match by the NRMP and printed on your confirmation.
On the first screen, you can indicate your desire to participate as a couple by clicking on the Modify button next to the statement "You are participating in the match as a single applicant." To participate as a member of a couple, you must enter your partner's NRMP code in the space provided. Your partner must also identify you as his or her partner when providing his or her rank information. You may then continue to enter your actual ranks into the system.
Technical hints for inputting your ROL
Get NRMP codes for each program. You can get them from the NRMP Rank Order List (ROL) when you sign on to write in your list, or material given to you by the program probably has the code.
Thank You, from the University of Rochester Residency Programs
Thank you for your interest in our program. We hope this guide has been helpful, and we would like to reiterate our comfort with the Couples match. We have a long history of couples match residents, and we understand the stresses such arrangements can bring. With open communication between the many residency programs here in Rochester, we avoid many of the potential problems that can arise. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Wendy Malorzo
Residency Program Administrator
Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Rochester
Tel: (585) 275-5575
e-mail: RadOncResidency@rochester.edu
Addendum I
Length of Residency Programs
The length of each bar represents the years of training required for certification. These are unofficial assignments and are offered for informational purposes only. Consult the most recent Graduate Medical Education Directory for current official requirements. Many specialties indicated as starting at the PGY-2 level now offer categorical tracks that include the first year.
Chart found at http://nrmp.aamc.org/nrmp/aboutres/index.htm
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| FAMILY PRACTICE | |||||
| EMERGENCY MEDICINE | |||||
| PEDIATRICS | SUBSPECIALTIES | ||||
| INTERNAL MEDICINE | SUBSPECIALTIES | ||||
| OBSTETRICS/GYNECOLOGY | |||||
| PATHOLOGY | |||||
| GENERAL SURGERY | SUBSPECIALTIES | ||||
| NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY | |||||
| ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY | |||||
| OTOLARYNGOLOGY | |||||
| UROLOGY | |||||
| TRANSI- TIONAL or PRELIM MEDICINE or PRELIM SURGERY | ANESTHESIOLOGY | ||||
| DERMATOLOGY | |||||
| NEUROLOGY | |||||
| NUCLEAR MEDICINE | |||||
| OPHTHALMOLOGY | |||||
| PHYSICAL MEDICINE | |||||
| PSYCHIATRY | |||||
| RADIOLOGY - DIAGNOSTIC | |||||
| RADIATION | |||||
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