Not matching on Match Day is one of the most stressful outcomes an IMG can face. But it is not the end of the road. Understanding the difference between the Match and SOAP before the results come out is what separates candidates who recover quickly from those who lose critical days in confusion and panic.
This guide explains how the USMLE Match vs SOAP process works, what the key structural differences are, what the actual statistics say about IMG outcomes in SOAP, and what you should do if you find yourself unmatched.
What is the Match?
The Match refers to the Main Residency Match managed by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). It is the primary mechanism through which medical graduates, both US and international, are placed into accredited residency training positions across the United States.
The NRMP uses an applicant-proposing algorithm. It first attempts to place an applicant into the highest-ranked program on their list. If that program cannot tentatively accept the applicant, the algorithm moves to the applicant’s next choice until a tentative match is found or the list is exhausted.
The Match is applicant-proposing, which means the algorithm prioritizes your preferences over the program’s. This is why you should always rank programs in your genuine order of preference rather than trying to second-guess where you think you will match. Gaming your rank order list based on perceived competitiveness is one of the most common and costly mistakes IMGs make.
Key facts about the Match:
- All applicants must register with NRMP separately from their ERAS application. ERAS is the application system; NRMP is the matching system, and rank order lists are submitted through its R3 system.
- Rank Order Lists are submitted in February with a strict deadline.
- Match Week takes place in March, with Match Day occurring on Friday of Match Week in the current Main Residency Match calendar.
- More than 40,000 residency positions are offered through the Main Residency Match each year. In the 2025 Match, 43,237 positions were offered.
- IMGs can apply to any NRMP-participating program unless the program explicitly excludes IMGs.
What is SOAP?
SOAP stands for Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program. It runs during Match Week for applicants who did not fully match in the primary Match. The difference between the Match and SOAP is not just timing. The structure, pace, available positions, and strategy are fundamentally different.
SOAP opens on the Monday of Match Week, when applicants find out their match status. Eligible applicants who are fully unmatched or partially matched after the Main Residency Match may participate in SOAP. They gain access to the List of Unfilled Programs through the NRMP’s R3 system under the SOAP tab, and applications are then submitted through the application service used by the participating program — in recent cycles this has included both AAMC ERAS and ResidencyCAS.
SOAP runs across four days, Monday through Thursday of Match Week, in multiple timed offer rounds:
- Round 1: Programs extend offers; applicants have a limited window to respond.
- Round 2: Remaining unfilled positions go through another offer cycle.
- Rounds 3 and 4: Final cycles for any positions still unfilled, concluding Thursday night.
Match Day results are then released on Friday.
Each round is time-pressured. Applicants who are slow to respond, poorly prepared with updated application materials, or unclear about which programs to target lose positions to faster and better-prepared candidates.
Key facts about SOAP:
- Eligible applicants are those who are fully unmatched or partially matched after the Main Residency Match. For IMGs, eligibility also depends on meeting the requirements to enter GME and completing required ECFMG verification.
- Applications go through the application service used by the participating program (ERAS or ResidencyCAS), using the account and documents already on file.
- In 2026, applicants using ERAS could apply to a maximum of 45 ERAS-participating programs across the entire SOAP process, including any programs previously applied to that season. This cap is one of the most important constraints shaping SOAP strategy — it forces applicants to prioritize rather than apply broadly.
- In recent Match cycles, more than 2,500 positions have been placed into SOAP, though the exact number varies by year. For example, in the 2024 Match, 2,562 positions were unfilled after the main algorithm, with 2,575 positions ultimately placed into SOAP across 787 programs. In 2025, 2,521 positions were placed into SOAP and 2,318 were filled. In 2026, 2,581 positions were offered through SOAP.
- Programs may interview SOAP applicants by phone or video before extending offers. NRMP policy prohibits applicants (or anyone acting on their behalf) from initiating contact with a program before the program reaches out first.
- Offers must be accepted or declined within the round time limit, with no extensions.
The Difference Between the Match and SOAP: Side by Side
| Feature | The Match | SOAP |
|---|---|---|
| Who is eligible | All registered NRMP applicants | Applicants who are fully unmatched or partially matched |
| Available positions | 40,000+ across all specialties | Typically 2,500+ positions placed into SOAP, varying by year |
| Timeline | September to March (about 6 months) | 4 days during Match Week (Monday–Thursday) |
| Application limit | No fixed cap on programs applied to | Up to 45 ERAS-participating programs total (2026 cycle) |
| Process | Algorithm-based rank order matching | Direct application and timed offers |
| Interview format | Structured, scheduled in advance | Phone or video, program-initiated, same-day or next-day |
| Specialty range | All NRMP specialties | Available across multiple specialties, though historically concentrated in certain fields |
| IMG competitiveness | Moderate to high depending on specialty | High; most positions are filled by US MD/DO seniors |
| Outcome certainty | Results released on Match Day | Offers are time-limited and can expire quickly |
USMLE Match vs SOAP: What the Statistics Actually Show
Understanding the real numbers behind USMLE Match vs SOAP is important for setting expectations and building a realistic strategy — and this is an area where inflated or outdated figures do real harm to applicants planning their next steps.
In the 2025 Main Residency Match, 43,237 positions were offered, of which 40,764 were filled, leaving 2,473 positions unfilled after the algorithm ran. The overall match rate for US MD seniors was well above 90%.
NRMP reports IMG match rates separately for US citizen IMGs and non-US citizen IMGs, and combining them into one range obscures a meaningful gap. In the 2025 Match, the PGY-1 match rate was 67.8% for US citizen IMGs and 58.0% for non-US citizen IMGs. In 2024, the corresponding figures were 67.0% and 58.5%. Match rates vary substantially by specialty and applicant characteristics.
On SOAP outcomes specifically, the historical reality is far less favorable for IMGs than is sometimes assumed. The large majority of positions filled through SOAP go to US MD and DO seniors who went unmatched or partially matched. Precise, program-verified figures for “percentage of unmatched IMGs who obtain a SOAP position” are not something NRMP publishes as a single clean statistic, and any number should be treated cautiously — but based on the pool of available data, unmatched IMGs securing a position through SOAP is realistically in the single-digit to low-teens percentage range, not anywhere near half. If you are an unmatched IMG entering SOAP, you should plan around long odds, not a coin flip.
SOAP positions can be available across multiple specialties, although historically many unfilled positions have been concentrated in fields such as internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, and pathology. Highly competitive specialties (dermatology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and similar fields) rarely have meaningful SOAP availability.
Step 2 CK performance is an important part of an IMG’s SOAP application — and it carries more weight than it once did, because since Step 1 moved to pass/fail reporting, Step 2 CK is no longer just “the primary” numerical score programs see; it is the only numerical USMLE score available for initial screening. That said, there is no universal Step 2 CK cutoff that guarantees or eliminates a SOAP offer. Programs making decisions in a narrow time window weigh Step 2 CK alongside clinical experience, letters of recommendation, graduation year, visa/sponsorship requirements, specialty fit, attempts, and interview performance.
Match vs SOAP for IMGs: The Strategic Differences
Match vs SOAP for IMGs is not just a question of timing. The strategic approach required in each process is fundamentally different, and IMGs who do not understand this distinction going in are at a significant disadvantage.
In the Match, strategy is built over months. Application volume, program selection, interview performance, and rank order list construction each play a role and each can be optimized over the roughly six months from ERAS opening to rank list submission. IMGs who apply broadly to 100 to 150 programs, target IMG-friendly specialties, secure US clinical experience letters, and invest in interview preparation have the best match outcomes.
In SOAP, strategy must be built in advance and executed in hours, within a hard application cap. You cannot start thinking about your SOAP strategy on Monday of Match Week. The IMGs who do best in SOAP are the ones who prepared for it as a contingency while still in the Match process, and who understand the constraints going in — most importantly, that ERAS applicants are capped at 45 program applications for the entire SOAP process. That cap means you cannot apply indiscriminately; every application has to count. That means:
Keeping your ERAS application updated with your most recent clinical experience and letters of recommendation so it is ready to submit immediately, since your existing uploaded documents are what programs will review — there is no time in SOAP for letter writers to draft new, custom letters, and NRMP policy does not permit applicants or their representatives to contact programs directly before a program reaches out first.
Knowing in advance which SOAP-friendly specialties you are willing to consider, so you are not making those decisions under time pressure and so you can spend your limited 45 applications on realistic targets.
Having a personal statement ready that can be quickly adapted for a primary care or psychiatry program if your original statement was written for a different specialty.
Identifying which geographic regions you are willing to relocate to, since SOAP positions are distributed unevenly across the country and limiting yourself to one region significantly reduces your options within an already-capped application count.
Preparing for a same-day or next-day phone or video interview. SOAP programs move fast, and they will initiate contact — you should never reach out to a program first. If they call you for an interview, they expect you to be ready within hours, not days.
What to Do If You Do Not Match
If you find out on Monday of Match Week that you did not match, here is the sequence to follow:
Step 1: Access the List of Unfilled Programs through the NRMP’s R3 system under the SOAP tab as soon as SOAP opens. Review which programs you are eligible for before submitting anything, since applications themselves are then submitted through the application service the program uses (ERAS or ResidencyCAS).
Step 2: Filter positions by specialty and geography based on the criteria you identified in advance, and prioritize carefully — remember that ERAS applicants are capped at 45 total program applications across the whole SOAP process. Do not apply to every open position indiscriminately; a targeted, relevant application within that cap performs better than a scattered one.
Step 3: Update your personal statement if necessary to align with the specialty you are applying to in SOAP. A statement written for a cardiology fellowship will not help you in a family medicine SOAP application.
Step 4: Make sure your letters of recommendation and supporting documents are already current and correctly assigned in ERAS before SOAP opens. Programs review what is already on file — there is no mechanism for letter writers to respond to individual program requests during SOAP, and neither you nor your writers should attempt to contact programs directly before they reach out.
Step 5: Prepare for phone or video interviews initiated by programs. Have your talking points ready: why you are interested in this specialty, what you bring to the program, and why you did not match in the primary cycle. Be honest about the last point. Program directors know the SOAP context, and a prepared, self-aware answer is far better than evasiveness.
Step 6: If you do not match in SOAP, you have two options. Apply to a different specialty in the same SOAP cycle if positions remain open and you have applications remaining within your 45-program cap, or begin planning for the next application cycle with a stronger application, additional US clinical experience, and a broader program list.
Should You Consider a Different Specialty in SOAP?
This is one of the hardest decisions an IMG faces and it deserves a direct answer.
If you targeted a competitive specialty in the Match (dermatology, radiology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery) and did not match, SOAP is unlikely to place you in that specialty. There are very few positions in those fields and competition is intense even within SOAP.
The practical question is whether you are willing to enter a primary care specialty, complete that residency, and potentially apply for fellowship later to pivot toward your original goal. Entering a different specialty through SOAP can preserve a pathway toward certain subspecialty fellowships — for example, a general surgery residency can lead toward surgical subspecialty fellowships, and an internal medicine residency opens doors toward cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, and other fields. But this does not guarantee an eventual transition into the specialty you originally wanted. Fellowship eligibility and competitiveness vary considerably by field, and some pathways are far more accessible than others.
The decision depends on how committed you are to a specific specialty versus how committed you are to practicing in the US. Neither answer is wrong, but you need to be clear about your priorities before SOAP opens, not during it.
How USMLEStrike Can Help
Navigating the Match and SOAP as an IMG requires preparation that goes well beyond exam scores. Application strategy, personal statement quality, interview performance, and rank list construction each affect your outcome significantly.
The Residency Match Essentials program at USMLEStrike provides end-to-end support for the full application cycle, including SOAP preparation as a contingency. This includes CV and personal statement editing, interview preparation, program selection strategy, and rank list guidance.
If you are earlier in your USMLE journey and want to build the strongest possible application foundation, see our guide on how to prepare for residency interviews and the CV for USMLE residency guide for the application components that matter most.
Conclusion
The difference between the Match and SOAP comes down to this: the Match gives you months to build the best possible application and the algorithm works in your favor. SOAP gives you four days, and a hard 45-program cap, to act on preparation you should have done in advance.
For IMGs, understanding USMLE Match vs SOAP before Match Week is not optional — and going in with realistic numbers matters. SOAP places thousands of applicants each cycle, but the majority of those positions go to US MD and DO seniors, and unmatched IMGs should plan around long odds rather than assuming near-even chances. The candidates who come out of SOAP with a position are almost always the ones who treated it as a planned contingency rather than an unexpected emergency. Prepare your SOAP materials during the Match process, know your specialty and geographic flexibility in advance, and be ready to move fast the moment Monday of Match Week arrives.
Match vs SOAP for IMGs is ultimately a question of preparation depth. The more thoroughly you prepare for both outcomes, the better your position in either scenario.
