Radiology Residency Letter of Intent and Your Prelim
Radiology residency letter of intent: the 2026–27 guide calls signals the preferred way to show interest. When a DR letter fits, and the prelim letter.
Radiology Residency Letter of Intent and Your Prelim
Diagnostic radiology's 2026–27 guide says "Signals are largely the preferred method for showing interest in a program" and that post-interview communications are "generally … not required." So a radiology letter of intent is optional. Send one only to your true first choice, and only if that program hasn't asked you not to.
Our view: a radiology applicant has two possible first-choice letters, not one. Most diagnostic radiology positions begin at PGY-2 (1,083 of the 1,239 PGY-1 and PGY-2 positions in the 2026 Match, our arithmetic from NRMP's Table 2), so your PGY-1 comes from a preliminary or transitional year program that you rank on a separate list. That program never saw your radiology signals. If one stands out, it is the program that can use a short, honest letter.
Every OPDA and NRMP document quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. These are the 2026–27 rules for the 2027 Match. NRMP's rules for all specialties are in the residency letter of intent rules for 2027. This page covers radiology's two lists: the DR program and the prelim or TY year.
What radiology's 2026–27 guide says
The Program Director Associations Guide for Residency Applicants: Diagnostic Radiology is the specialty's own guidance for this cycle. Its "Applicant Communications" section reads:
"Pre-Interview Communication Guidance: Generally, pre-interview and letters of interest are not encouraged. Signals are largely the preferred method for showing interest in a program.
Post-Interview Communication Guidance: Somewhat program specific, but generally post-interview communications are not required. Usually, programs will give guidance."
The same guide sets the facts your letter sits next to:
| 2026–27 radiology guidance | What it means for a letter |
|---|---|
| Signals: "6 gold, 9 silver"; "The general guidance is to signal home and away rotation sites." | Programs already know where you aimed 15 signals. A letter must add something the signal didn't |
| Interview format: "The specialty recommends virtual; however, there are a few programs that do in-person or hybrid." | Your reason for writing has to come from a virtual day. Name the session or the person |
| Second looks: "No specialty-specific guidance. Variable by program." | A visit is not the specialty's way to show interest. Check each program |
| NRMP Voluntary ROL Lock Pilot: "No" | Radiology programs are not in the lock pilot, so a list can change until NRMP's deadline |
| "Guidance for Applicants from Transitional Year/Prelim Programs: None noted." | The guide is silent on your PGY-1 programs. Their own rules apply |
Read "Usually, programs will give guidance" literally. If a program's interview day, website or email says not to send post-interview letters, don't send one there. If it says nothing, a single letter to your first choice is allowed under NRMP rules. The Match Participation Agreement §6.4 says "Applicants may voluntarily communicate their interest to a program(s); however, applicants may not solicit verbal or written statements from a program(s) implying a commitment to rank the applicant."
How signals and letters fit together across specialties is on program signals and letters of intent.
Advanced and preliminary: two programs, two decisions
The 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §7.1, defines the position type of most radiology positions:
Advanced Position ("A"): Positions in specialty programs that begin the year after the Match and after one or more years of required preliminary training.
and the one that covers PGY-1:
Preliminary Positions ("P"): One-year positions in transitional or specialty programs.
In the 2026 Match, NRMP's Results and Data report (Table 2) lists 1,083 PGY-2 diagnostic radiology positions offered, against 156 PGY-1 diagnostic radiology positions. If you are aiming at the 1,083, you need a PGY-1 year from somewhere else.
NRMP's help page on supplemental rank order lists says applicants who rank advanced programs can add a supplemental list of PGY-1 programs linked to them, so they can secure both years. How that list works is in the supplemental rank order list guide.
That gives you two lists, and each one has its own first choice:
- Primary list: your diagnostic radiology programs (and any categorical PGY-1 programs). At most one DR program gets a letter saying it is first.
- Supplemental list: your transitional year and preliminary medicine or surgery programs. At most one gets a letter saying it is first on that list.
Each statement must be true on the day you send it. Couples should know that NRMP's couples page says "supplemental rank order lists are considered individually by the matching algorithm, not as a unit."
What the prelim and TY programs say about letters
The OPDA Transitional Year guide for 2026–27 gives programs one instruction: "All Transitional Year Residency Programs are expected to follow NRMP recommendations and remain equitable and professional" during communications with applicants. It sets no rule for applicant letters. So the program's own instruction controls. For a preliminary medicine or surgery year, use that specialty's guide and the program's instructions.
If you end up partially matched
The Match Participation Agreement §7.3 calls this outcome "Partially matched": you matched one of the two positions but not both. It adds: "Unmatched and partially matched applicants may be eligible to participate in SOAP." For a radiology applicant, that means a DR advanced match with no PGY-1, or a PGY-1 with no DR position. During SOAP, the 2027 Match Week calendar says "Applicants and their representatives CANNOT communicate with a program until contacted by that program." No letter of intent goes out during SOAP. The 2027 SOAP schedule and rules cover the week hour by hour.
Should you send a radiology letter? A four-step check
- Has the program given guidance? Check its website, interview-day slides and emails. If it says no post-interview letters, stop there.
- Is it your true first choice on that list? One DR program, one prelim or TY program, at most. If you can't say "first" honestly, send a thank-you or an update instead.
- Do you have a reason the signal didn't carry? It should be something from the interview day: a reading-room session, a resident's answer, a curriculum detail.
- Is it before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 3, 2027? That is the rank order list certification deadline on the 2027 Main Residency Match calendar.
Pass all four and send one short letter. If you have news but no first-choice statement, send an update letter after the interview instead.
Constructed letters: a DR program and a TY program
Two constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant letters. Context (invented): Reza Ostrowski interviewed virtually at an advanced diagnostic radiology program and at a transitional year program in the same city. By February both are first on their lists. Neither program has said anything about post-interview letters.
Constructed DR advanced letter (85 words):
Dear Dr. Pellegrino,
Thank you for my interview on December 3. I will rank your program first. In the reading-room session, a PGY-3 walked through how first-years preview cases before the attending read-out, and that is the way I want to learn. Since my interview, my abstract on incidental adrenal findings in trauma CT was accepted for a regional meeting in April. I have also ranked a transitional year program in the city first on my supplemental list. Thank you for your time.
Reza Ostrowski
Constructed TY letter (76 words):
Dear Dr. Gallagher,
Thank you for my interview on January 9. Your program is first on the supplemental list I am attaching to my radiology programs. The four-week radiology elective in your PGY-1 schedule and the ICU month a current resident described are the two things I want from my intern year. If I match, I start an advanced radiology position in July 2028. Thank you for your time and for the residents' candor.
Reza Ostrowski
What each one does:
- One first-choice statement per list. The DR letter says first once. The TY letter says first on the supplemental list, which is true and is a different list.
- A reason from the virtual day. Each letter names one feature and where Reza heard about it. That is the first thing GradPilot's residency letter rubric reads for.
- A dated update. The accepted abstract is new since December 3.
- No question about ranking. Neither letter asks how the program will rank him. NRMP's Code of Conduct for Applicants says applicants "must not request a program director or any member of the recruitment team to disclose program ranking preferences or intentions."
- The TY letter names the DR plan. A TY program ranks interns who leave after a year. Saying so plainly is what the letter is for.
More letter structures are in the residency letter of intent example page.
Questions about radiology letters of intent
Do radiology programs expect a letter of intent?
No. The 2026–27 guide says post-interview communications are "generally … not required" and that programs "Usually … will give guidance."
Can I send a letter of intent before my radiology interview?
The guide says "Generally, pre-interview and letters of interest are not encouraged." Use your signals for that.
Should my prelim or TY program get a letter?
Only if it is first on your supplemental list, the program hasn't asked you not to, and you have a reason from its interview day. Otherwise a thank-you is enough. Templates are in the residency interview thank-you email guide.
Does a radiology letter help after the rank list deadline?
No. After 9 p.m. ET on March 3, 2027, lists are certified. The Match Participation Agreement §7.2.1 says "Once certification is complete, the NRMP will not uncertify the rank order list."
Get a free review of your residency letter
Get a free Quick Review of your residency letter against GradPilot's residency letter of intent rubric. Run the DR letter and the prelim or TY letter separately. For each, it reads whether the reason comes from that program's interview day, whether the interest is stated at its true strength, whether the update is a dated fact, and whether anything asks about ranking. Paste the program's own instruction with the draft and the review checks the letter against it.
For the statement you already submitted, see radiology residency personal statement examples. More residency guides are in the medical school and residency essays hub.
Sources
Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.
- OPDA, Program Director Associations Guide for Residency Applicants: Diagnostic Radiology (2026–27 cycle): applicant communications, signals, interview format, second looks, lock pilot, TY/prelim guidance.
- OPDA, Program Director Associations Guide for Residency Applicants: Transitional Year (2026–27 cycle): communication guidance for TY programs.
- NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants: §6.4, §7.1, §7.2.1, §7.3.
- NRMP, Results and Data: 2026 Main Residency Match (2026 Match): Table 2, diagnostic radiology PGY-1 and PGY-2 positions offered.
- NRMP, Do I need a supplemental rank order list?: supplemental lists.
- NRMP, Couples in the Match: supplemental lists for couples.
- NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match calendar: rank order list certification deadline.
- NRMP, 2027 Match Week and SOAP calendar: SOAP communication rule.
- NRMP, Match Code of Conduct for Applicants: ranking-intention requests.
Does your letter say why this program, clearly and honestly?
Get feedback on your program-specific reasons, how you state your interest, and any update. Paste your specialty's or program's communication instructions above your draft.