Thank-You to Letter Writers After the Match

Thank-You to Letter Writers After the Match

Write to every residency letter writer once you know your result. In the 2027 Match that is Friday, March 19, 2027, after 12 p.m. ET if you matched, or after SOAP ends at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 18 if you didn't. Name the program, or say plainly that you didn't match.

Our view: it is the same email either way. If you matched, your writers want the program name and one line on what their letter did. If you didn't, that email is where you ask whether they will write for you again. Write in March, so an August request isn't your first message since your result.

The NRMP calendar quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. This page is for applicants thanking faculty. If you are a medical school applicant thanking a recommender, see the thank-you email to a recommender after a medical school acceptance.

When to send

NRMP's 2027 Match Week and SOAP calendar sets the order:

Two timing rules:

• Matched on Monday? Wait until Friday. You know you matched but not where. "I matched, more on Friday" is fine for a mentor who asked. The thank-you waits for the program name.
• In SOAP? Hold the thank-you until SOAP ends. The 2027 SOAP schedule runs offer rounds until SOAP ends at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday. Send one email after SOAP ends, with the result. NRMP's after the Match page says "At the conclusion of SOAP, unmatched applicants are free to reach out to programs as they choose." That is when you may need a writer to vouch for you quickly, so that is when the email should land.

What every version contains

1. Thanks for the specific letter. Name the rotation or project the letter came from.
2. The result in one line. Program, specialty and city, or "I did not match this year."
3. One line on what the letter did. Only if you know. "Two interviewers mentioned the night-float case you wrote about" is useful to a writer. Don't guess at what a letter did.
4. The next step. Matched: an offer to stay in touch. Unmatched: the ask.

Keep it under 150 words. Send it from the email address your writer knows, not a new one.

Matched: constructed email

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant email. Context (invented): Marco Mendoza matched into internal medicine. Dr. R. Jovanovic wrote his letter after an inpatient sub-internship.

Constructed matched email (89 words):

Subject: Matched in internal medicine — thank you

Dear Dr. Jovanovic,

I matched into internal medicine at a university program in Cleveland, starting in July. Thank you for the letter you wrote after my sub-internship on your service. Two interviewers asked about the patient with the missed hyponatremia you described, so your letter started some of my best conversations. I learned how to present overnight admissions on your team, and I'll be doing that every week as an intern. I hope to stay in touch.

With thanks, Marco Mendoza

Why it works: the result is in sentence one. The credit is specific and true (he knows what interviewers asked). It asks for nothing.

Didn't match: constructed email and re-ask

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant email. Context (invented): Leila Moradi did not match into emergency medicine and did not get a SOAP position. She plans to reapply next cycle and do research in the meantime.

Constructed unmatched email (128 words):

Subject: My Match result, and a question

Dear Dr. Oyelaran,

I did not match into emergency medicine this year, and I did not get a position in SOAP. Thank you for the letter you wrote after my ED rotation. I know it took time, and I'm grateful.

I plan to reapply in the 2028 Match. Until then I'm working as a research coordinator in the department and will keep doing clinical shifts as a scribe. Would you be willing to write for me again next cycle? I would update you in June with what has changed, so the letter can speak to this year. If you would rather not, I completely understand.

I'd also welcome 15 minutes of your advice on my application, whenever suits you.

Leila Moradi

What the re-ask does:

• It states the outcome without apology or explanation. The writer doesn't need the reasons in email. A meeting is the place for that.
• It asks for a future letter, not this year's file. A letter for the next cycle should describe the next year.
• It promises an update with a date. Writers can't describe work they haven't seen.
• It gives an easy way to say no. One sentence, not a paragraph.

Whether last cycle's uploaded letter can be reused is an ERAS rule. AAMC's ERAS pages returned HTTP 403 when we checked on November 7, 2026, so this page doesn't state it. Check in MyERAS or with your dean's office before you ask a writer to re-upload.

For the application itself, see reapplying to residency: how much to rewrite and how to explain not matching in a residency interview.

Partially matched or matched in SOAP

The Match Participation Agreement §7.3 calls an applicant "Partially matched if not fully matched." If you matched an advanced position but not a PGY-1, or took a preliminary year in SOAP, say exactly that: "I matched into anesthesiology at X, starting after a preliminary medicine year at Y, which I accepted in SOAP." If you plan to reapply in a different specialty from your preliminary year, add the re-ask from the unmatched email.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for a thank-you gift to be ready. The email goes first. A handwritten card can follow.
• One group email to all writers. Each writer gets their own email that names their letter.
• Asking a writer to "tweak" last year's letter. Ask whether they will write again. What they change is up to them.

Writing to the program you matched with is a separate email. See emailing your residency program after the Match. How letters work in ERAS is in the ERAS letters of recommendation guide. More Match-season guides are in the medical school and residency essays hub.

Questions about thanking letter writers

Should I thank letter writers if I didn't match?

Yes. The email is also how you find out whether they will write again.

Is a text or a hallway thank-you enough?

Send the email as well. It gives your writer the program name in writing, and a record they can find when someone asks how you did.

Should I tell letter writers I matched before Match Day?

Only if they ask. On Monday you know whether you matched, not where. The full thank-you waits for Friday's result.

Can I ask a letter writer to write for SOAP during Match Week?

You can ask, but they need time you may not have. NRMP's calendar has programs reviewing SOAP applications from 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 16. Ask before Match Week whether a writer would support a SOAP application if you need one.

Review the writing you send next

If you didn't match, the next document is your reapplication statement, and GradPilot's ERAS personal statement rubric reads it for a specialty reason, chosen evidence and what changed in your thinking. After next cycle's interviews, get a free Quick Review of your residency letter against the residency letter of intent rubric before you send it.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match Week and SOAP calendar (2027 Match): match status, SOAP end, Match Day times.
• NRMP, After the Match: contacting programs after SOAP.
• NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement for Applicants: §7.3 partially matched.