The Scramble: Organized Chaos

I'm starting a series of entries on the Scramble because I receive a lot of questions about the topic.

First, the basics: The Scramble is a process used to fill unfilled residency positions. Some residency programs will have available residency positions even after the NRMP has completed the Match. These positions become available during the Scramble period so that those applicants who did not get a residency position can vie for them.

The calendar (for 2010) is as follows:

On Monday, March 15 applicant matched and unmatched information is posted to the NRMP website at noon EST. Residency candidates can log in with their AAMC ID number and password to find out if they have matched but not where. (The list of residencies that have not filled is not yet available.)

On Tuesday, March 16 at noon EST the Scramble starts when the list of residency programs with unfilled positions is posted onto the NRMP website. This means that unmatched applicants (who submitted a certified rank order list for the Match) will be given access to the NRMP's "Dynamic List of Unfilled Programs." The list is dynamic because it is updated by the NRMP every hour to demonstrate the number of remaining positions at each residency program.

On Thursday, March 18 the Scramble ends at noon EST and the Match results are available at 1pm EST.

The Scramble is a huge and confusing topic. Please see my next entry regarding how an applicant actually scrambles. (Warning: How it's done is not pretty.)