Match Week 2027: SOAP Schedule and Rules

Match Week 2027: SOAP Schedule and Rules

SOAP 2027 opens Monday, March 15, at 10 a.m. ET and ends Thursday, March 18, at 9 p.m. ET. You get an initial batch of 45 applications, you may not contact a program until it contacts you, and offers arrive in four two-hour rounds on Thursday.

That schedule decides the whole week before it starts. Applications open at 11 a.m. Monday, and programs start reading them at 8 a.m. Tuesday. That leaves 21 hours (our arithmetic) to choose programs and send applications, and no time to write a new statement for a new specialty. Walk into Match Week with your fallback statements already written. If you are still building your list, the 2027 ERAS timeline covers the dates before Match Week, and the SOAP personal statement guide covers the document you should write in February.

Every NRMP page and PDF quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. NRMP's SOAP page says its "2027 SOAP guide for applicants" is "coming early 2027", so recheck the calendar when that guide posts.

The 2027 Match Week schedule, hour by hour

All times are Eastern, from NRMP's 2027 Main Residency Match Week and SOAP Calendar.

One date in NRMP's own documents disagrees. The calendar closes the list on April 30. Section 9.6 of the 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants (MPA) says the list stays available "through 11:59 p.m. ET on May 1." Plan on April 30.

Who can SOAP in 2027

MPA section 9.1 says that "To participate in SOAP, eligible applicants must be":

1. Registered for the Main Residency Match;
2. Verified as eligible to enter graduate medical education on July 1 in the year of the Match as outlined in Section 3.0; and
3. Partially or fully unmatched on Monday of Match Week.

Four practical points follow from NRMP's pages:

• There is no separate sign-up. NRMP's help page says: "No, there is not a separate registration for the Main Residency Match and SOAP. You must be registered for the Match with the NRMP and verified as eligible to participate by the Rank Order List Certification Deadline". That deadline is Wednesday, March 3, 2027, 9 p.m. ET, per the 2027 applicant calendar. It is also the late-registration and applicant withdrawal deadline.
• Someone else confirms you are eligible. For U.S. students, MPA section 3.1.1 says eligibility "shall be based on the graduation requirements of the medical school." For international medical graduates, section 3.2.1 says "IMG credentials will be verified with the ECFMG." IMG-specific steps are in the SOAP guide for IMGs.
• You do not need to have ranked anyone. NRMP's Results and Data 2026 report says: "Applicants do not have to submit rank order lists when the matching algorithm is processed to be eligible to participate in SOAP." An applicant with zero interviews who stays registered and verified can still SOAP.
• Fellowship applicants have no SOAP. The same help page: "There is not a SOAP process in the fellowship Matches."

If you are not eligible on Monday, NRMP's SOAP page is blunt: "Applicants who are not eligible for SOAP cannot apply to any Match-participating programs, regardless of the program's SOAP participation status, until SOAP concludes." They may contact non-Match programs "only after 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday of Match Week."

The no-contact rule, in NRMP's words

MPA section 9.2 says:

Neither SOAP-eligible applicants nor their representatives may initiate any verbal, written, or electronic communication with any program until and unless specifically contacted by a program representative after the published time on Monday of Match Week and after receipt of the application. If a program does not contact the applicant or the applicant's representative, there may be no communication to the program.

In our reading, "representatives" covers your dean, your advisor, a mentor who knows the program director, and anyone else writing on your behalf. NRMP's SOAP Highlights for Applicants, a 2021 sheet still linked from the current SOAP page, says contact before the program initiates it "is a Match violation and will be investigated."

The rule runs the other way too. Section 9.2 says applicants "may not receive communication from a program unless and until the applicant has submitted an application to that program," and a program that writes first must be reported "to the NRMP at policy@nrmp.org."

Two more groups are locked out of contact:

• Fully matched applicants. Section 7.5.2 says they "and programs may not contact each other for any reason until the general announcement of the Match results." That is noon on Friday. What to send then is in the email to your residency program after the Match.
• Everyone after the rank deadline. Section 7.5.1 says that between March 3 and Monday's status release, applicants "may not apply for, discuss, interview for, or accept any position that would run concurrent with positions offered in the Match."

Why the stakes are high: in NRMP's 2026 Program Director Survey, only 15% of responding program directors said a Match-violation flag was a ranking consideration, but that item "had the highest mean importance across all factors" (4.8 out of 5 for ranking). The survey's overall response rate was 12.7%.

Our view: treat Monday as a writing day, not a messaging day. No "I just applied" email, no call from your dean to a friend at the program, no LinkedIn note. Your application is the only message you are allowed to send.

How SOAP applications and offers work

Applications. NRMP's help page on reapplying after the first round says: "Programs to which you have applied have access to your application during all SOAP rounds. If you still have unused applications from your initial batch of 45, you can submit them for any remaining unfilled programs". The list "is updated at the end of each offer round." You apply through the service each program uses. For emergency medicine, CORD's 2026–27 best practices say programs "should utilize the ResidencyCAS Application Platform for both the Main Residency Match and SOAP."

Specialty. You are not tied to the specialty you ranked. NRMP: "Yes, applicants can apply to a different specialty or specialties during SOAP." MPA section 9.3 says eligible applicants see unfilled positions "without restriction by specialty". The backup specialty planning guide covers how to choose one.

Offers. NRMP's SOAP Highlights sheet sets the offer rules:

• "Applicants can receive multiple offers in any SOAP round."
• "Applicants should NOT accept an offer until all offers have been generated in that round."
• "Applicants have 2 hours in which to accept, reject, or let offers expire."
• "Offers accepted automatically make applicants ineligible for the same type of position in another program. Offers rejected/expired will NOT be extended again."
• "Program directors cannot ask applicants to indicate whether they will accept an offer if one is extended through SOAP."

The commitment. MPA section 9.0 says "SOAP is not another Match" and "Positions offered and accepted during SOAP constitute a binding commitment under this Agreement."

Accept now or wait for a later round?

A rejected offer never comes back, and NRMP says so in capitals. In 2026, programs sent 4,333 offers: 2,632 were accepted, 1,586 rejected and 115 left to expire (Results and Data 2026).

Our view: in each round, accept the best offer from a program where you would actually train. Do not reject a real offer on the hope that a program you prefer will reach you in round 3. You cannot see a program's preference list, and the position you rejected goes to the next applicant.

The countercase: if a round brings only an offer you would not take in any circumstance, such as a program whose visa or start-date terms you cannot meet, reject it. MPA section 7.2 tells applicants requiring a visa to confirm sponsorship before they certify a rank list. Apply the same test in SOAP before you accept.

Partially matched applicants

MPA section 7.3 defines the case with an example. You are partially matched if you "intended to enter a preliminary general surgery position and a three-year anesthesia position and only matched into the anesthesia position or the preliminary general surgery position but not both."

What changes for you:

• Section 7.5.2 says you "will receive email notification of the city, state, and zip code of their matched program to facilitate the applicant's participation in SOAP." It also says "Partially matched applicants must follow all SOAP communication rules." Knowing the city does not let you call the matched program.
• The calendar says the list "will show only programs for which the applicant is eligible based on their matched status." Matched to an advanced year, you are looking for the PGY-1 year in front of it, ideally in the same city.
• The statement you send is a one-year statement, not a career statement. The prelim and transitional-year section of the SOAP statement guide shows what changes, and the supplemental rank order list guide explains how to avoid this case next time.

What SOAP looked like in 2026

These figures are from NRMP's Results and Data 2026 report, cited one by one.

• 13,820 applicants were SOAP-eligible.
• 2,851 positions were placed in SOAP, and 92.3% of them (2,632) were filled. 219 stayed unfilled.
• 917 SOAP positions were PGY-1 only: 559 preliminary surgery, 150 preliminary internal medicine, 11 preliminary OB-GYN and 197 transitional year.
• Family medicine had 898 SOAP positions. Categorical internal medicine had 512 and categorical pediatrics 173.
• U.S. MD seniors filled 36.2% of SOAP positions, U.S. DO seniors 18.2%, and IMGs as a group 34.3%.

Our arithmetic: 13,820 eligible applicants for 2,851 positions is about 4.8 eligible applicants per position. The figure counts eligible applicants, not applications.

Our view: the position mix tells you which statements to pre-write. In 2026, family medicine, preliminary surgery, categorical internal medicine and the transitional year together held 2,166 of 2,851 SOAP positions (our arithmetic: 898 + 559 + 512 + 197). If your plan B is not one of those four, check that the specialty had SOAP positions at all before you write for it.

Prep checklist before Monday, March 15

Run this in February, while your rank list is open.

If a faculty member is writing you a backup letter, send them residency letters for SOAP and off-cycle applicants.

1. Confirm you are registered and verified. Standard registration ends January 29, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET; late registration and the withdrawal deadline are March 3, 2027, at 9 p.m. ET.
2. Pick one to three fallback specialties. Start from the 2026 position mix above and your advisor's read of your file.
3. Write one SOAP statement per fallback specialty, plus a one-year version if a preliminary or transitional year is on your list. The SOAP personal statement guide has constructed examples for each.
4. Decide which letters go with which statement. A family medicine program reading a surgery letter learns little about you as a family physician.
5. Plan the 45 applications by specialty, so Monday is choosing programs, not choosing specialties.
6. Set up your phone and video. Voicemail with your full name, a quiet room, and a list of where you applied. The SOAP interview questions guide covers the calls.
7. Book your advisor for Monday at 10 a.m. MPA section 6.4 lets applicants "voluntarily share their rank order lists or SOAP preferences with their medical school advisor(s)".
8. Decide on the opt-out now. MPA section 9.4 lets fully unmatched applicants skip SOAP for "research, Masters academic program, etc.", but only if they submit no applications to Match or SOAP programs during Match Week.

The countercase: a long rank list in a specialty with few unmatched applicants lowers your risk. In that case, step 3 can be a single fallback statement instead of three. Do not skip step 1 or step 6.

Questions about Match Week and SOAP

Can I email a SOAP program after I apply?

No. Under MPA section 9.2 you wait until the program contacts you after it receives your application. Your advisor cannot write for you either.

How many SOAP applications can I send?

NRMP's help page refers to "your initial batch of 45" applications and says unused ones can go to programs that remain unfilled after each round.

Can I SOAP into a different specialty than the one I ranked?

Yes. NRMP says applicants "can apply to a different specialty or specialties during SOAP."

What happens after SOAP ends at 9 p.m. Thursday?

You may contact all remaining unfilled programs, including programs that did not take part in SOAP. MPA section 9.3 adds that you "May not seek to replace any matched position and/or position obtained through SOAP."

Do I have to accept a SOAP offer?

No. You can accept, reject or let it expire within two hours. Once you accept, the position is a binding commitment, the same as a Match result.

Review the writing you send next

The document every SOAP program reads is your personal statement for its specialty. Get a free Quick Review of your SOAP personal statement against GradPilot's residency personal statement rubric: it reads why you chose the specialty, which experiences you picked, and whether your readiness for residency work shows. If you are also reworking ERAS experience entries, the most meaningful experience rubric reads those reflections, and the residency personal statement review page explains both.

More Match Week guides:

• SOAP personal statement: examples by specialty: one statement per fallback specialty, with constructed examples.
• SOAP interview questions: the short calls on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Reapplying to residency: if SOAP does not place you.
• Medical school and residency essay guides: every residency writing guide. A SOAP acceptance binds you like a match; backing out of a SOAP position takes an NRMP waiver.

Feedback requests wait until SOAP ends; the residency feedback email after not matching covers who to ask and what to ask.

After SOAP ends, thank your letter writers after the Match and, if you're reapplying, ask whether they'll write again.

If you go unmatched, see how to explain not matching when you reapply.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026.

• NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match Week and SOAP Calendar: every time in the schedule table.
• NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match Applicants Calendar: registration, certification and withdrawal deadlines.
• NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants: sections 3.1.1, 3.2.1, 6.4, 7.2, 7.3, 7.5, 9.0–9.4 and 9.6.
• NRMP, SOAP for applicants: SOAP-ineligible rules; 2027 guide "coming early 2027".
• NRMP, SOAP Highlights for Applicants (2021 sheet, linked from the current SOAP page): offer rules and violations.
• NRMP help pages: separate SOAP registration, reapplying after the first SOAP round, applying to a different specialty in SOAP.
• NRMP, Results and Data 2026 Main Residency Match (May 2026): 2026 SOAP eligibility, positions, offers and fill figures.
• NRMP, Charting Outcomes: Program Director Survey Results, 2026 (August 2026; 12.7% response rate): Match-violation importance.
• CORD EM, APIC Best Practices for the 2026–2027 Residency Application and Interview Season (May 22, 2026): ResidencyCAS for emergency medicine SOAP.