I was told to email the residency directors of my top 3-5 favorite programs indicating that I will rank them highly.
Have you all heard similarly? Do the directors email back or just file that letter somewhere? Do they/are they allowed to engage in that conversation about how they'll rank you?
Thanks.
I was told the same thing by my home PD and other faculty at my home school. I ended up emailing my top 4 and I have heard back from the PDs at 3 of the 4. 2 of the responses have not explicitly stated how they will match me, but they have said statements regarding my strength as a candidate or how the faculty felt about me, etc. 1 specifically referred to my position on their list.
No - if you are a current medical student, and applying through the Match, this is a violation of the NRMP Match.
The rules of the Match don't allow negotiation between a program and an applicant for a match position. Neither party can ask the other how they will be ranked. However, unsolicited, an applicant can tell a program that they are ranking a program #1. The reverse is true if the program would like to tell an applicant how they are ranking them.
There are several threads discussing these issue of Match violations under the "General Residency Issues" sub-forum "ERAS and the NRMP Match". Plus, check out this section of Match Participation Agreement from nrmp.org:
6.0 Restrictions on Persuasion
One of the purposes of the Matching Program is to allow both applicants and programs to make selection decisions on a uniform schedule and without coercion or undue or unwarranted pressure.
Both applicants and programs may express their interest in each other; however, they shall not solicit verbal or written statements implying a commitment. It is a breach of the applicable Match Participation Agreement for either party to suggest or inform the other that placement on a rank order list is contingent upon submission of a verbal or written statement indicating ranking intentions. In addition, it is a breach of the applicable Match Participation Agreement for a program and applicant in the Matching Program to make any verbal or written contract for appointment to a concurrent year residency or fellowship position prior to the Matching Program. Only the final preferences of programs and applicants, as expressed on their final certified rank order lists, will determine the offering of positions and the placement of applicants through the Matching Program.
