How much does couples match cost?

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cameraGEEK

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Just asking in terms of the first application (not yet interviews). If this is the regular match -

If one of us is applying to:
1. 100 programs for specialty A
2. 50 programs for internship for specialty A
3. 30 programs for backup specialty B
And the other is applying to:
4. 100 programs for specialty C
5. 50 programs for internship for specialty C

How would I calculate how much this will all cost for participating in the couples match?
 
Just asking in terms of the first application (not yet interviews). If this is the regular match -

If one of us is applying to:
1. 100 programs for specialty A
2. 50 programs for internship for specialty A
3. 30 programs for backup specialty B
And the other is applying to:
4. 100 programs for specialty C
5. 50 programs for internship for specialty C

How would I calculate how much this will all cost for participating in the couples match?

A metric crapton. You can find the fees on the ERAS website and make your own little spreadsheet to calculate just how broke you're going to be from app fees.
 
is it actually necessary to apply to that many programs?

For two moderately to borderline competitive candidates for two competitive specialties trying to couples match? Maybe. For one person with a decent CV trying to match anything less competitive than Plastics? No.
 
Does anyone know where I can go to find as much info on these costs as possible - I am only finding bits and pieces of the information in their site.

We are average applicants and applying to competitive-ish fields so we will need to apply to many programs, esp if we want to stay together in the same city.

Also confused on a couple of things:
-Is the additional cost couples much pay for each program over 30, programs they rank (have received an interview from) or just programs they initially apply to?
-Do we pay separately for intern programs and PGY2 spots? I have been told some of these programs are together, so this is confusing.
-Do we pay for each program once or multiple times if we rank the same program 3 times in different permutations with the couple.

Anyone who has done couples match, what types of costs did you end up with? We may need to take out additional loans to pay for this to do our best to avoid getting caught in the scramble...
 
Well I can tell you this:
Each person applying to each specialty will pay $150 total for the first 10, $8 per for the next 10, $15 per for the next 10, and $25 per for any after that.
Internships would count as a separate specialty unless backup specialty is medicine or general surgery and internships were in that field.

Check the NRMP site for ranking costs.
 
As mentioned above, it's not clear if you're talking about the NRMP match, or ERAS application. Fees are different for both. Assuming NRMP:

Here's the info from the NRMP website:

Registration Fee

Payment of the $50.00 registration fee for U.S. seniors must be made at the time of registration for the Main Residency Match. Applicants who complete their registrations after November 30th must pay an additional $50 late registration fee. All registration fees are non-refundable.

By electing to pay by credit card or electronic banking, the applicant authorizes the NRMP to supply the applicant's bank with information it requires about your NRMP Agreement to resolve any inquiries concerning related charges.

Registration entitles the applicant to the following NRMP services:

Access to the NRMP R3 site;
Processing of up to 20 different program ranks on the primary rank order list at no additional cost (for each additional program over 20, the fee is $30 per program);
Processing of up to 20 different program ranks on supplemental rank order lists at no additional charge, regardless of the number of supplemental rank order lists having combinations of those programs (for each additional program over 20, the fee is $30 per program);
Each partner of a couple may rank up to 30 different programs on the primary rank order list and up to 30 programs on all supplemental lists combined at no additional charge. Each partner of a couple also must pay an additional $15 registration fee.

So, what does this mean for you?

The basic fee will be $50+$15 for each of you (assuming you register before Nov 30, or tack on another $50 late fee). That allows you to rank 30 programs each. You are allowed to rank each program as many times as you want. Thus, if you listed as a couple all possible combinations (including the possibilities that one of you matches and the other doesn't), there would be (31*31)-1=960 ranks on each of your ranklists, and you'd still only owe the basic fee. So far, so good.

Life becomes expensive when you start to rank more than this. It's $30 PER PROGRAM. The NRMP does this because, honestly, there isn't much point to ranking more than 30 programs. If you have that many interviews, you'll likely match somewhere with 30 ranks.

So, to answer your question, you'd be ranking your 100 Program A and 30 Program B on your rank lists. The internships would go on your supplemental, so we'll deal with that later. That's 130 programs. The first 30 are included, so you'd have 100 extras. $30 each, so that's $3000. The internships would go on a supplemental list, the first 30 are included. You'd have 20 extra of those, also $30 each, so that's another $600.

You'd also have to decide whether you wanted to list the interships on your primary list. You'd do this in case you didn't match in either specialty A or B, to get just an internship. If you did that, you'd likely get charged another $30 x 50 = $1500.

Anyway, all of this is kinda pointless. You may APPLY to 100 programs, but you're unlikely to RANK 100 programs. You'd never be able to go on 100 interviews!

The key is this: in the NRMP couples match, you only pay for UNIQUE program ranks. The couple's list becomes really long quickly, but you get 30 unique programs to rank for your initial fee, and you can include each program as many times as you want on your list (each one paired with a different program on your partner's list) for no cost.

Now, if you were wondering how much this would cost to APPLY in ERAS, that's easy. Here's a calculator:https://www.residencyplace.com/ErasCalcPage.aspx
 
Thank you so much, that was really helpful! It cleared a lot up. I made the mistake of forgetting this is a two step process:

so to be clear, first I use ERAS to apply to the 100 programs, then I use NRMP to rank or couples rank the, say, 20, places I got an interview at.

I have to add the costs for my SO other and I for each the ERAS, then later the NRMP?

I can see that it is unlikely that one would receive more than 30 interviews for a residency, so most people I assume do not have to pay more than the basic cost for NRMP?

What if someone has 12 interview for residency A and 20 interviews to rank from backup residency B, then would one pay for 32 programs to rank?

Why aren't all programs on that link you included by the way - like ophtho, rads and derm, do they have their own special charges for ERAS and NRMP?

Besides paying an additional fee, is there any extra work to selecting 100 programs vs 10 programs to apply to?
 
Why aren't all programs on that link you included by the way - like ophtho, rads and derm, do they have their own special charges for ERAS and NRMP?
No. That's just some random website that made an online ERAS fee calculator. It's simply meant to illustrate that if you apply to 10 programs each in 4 different specialties, you pay a different fee than if you apply to 20 programs each in 2 different specialties or 40 programs in 1 specialty.

BUT...you're including ophtho in this mess which brings teh SF Match into the mix which changes everything. And you kind of need to do some homework on your own on that issue.

Besides paying an additional fee, is there any extra work to selecting 100 programs vs 10 programs to apply to?

Aside from the repetitive stress injury you're going to get from all the boxes you're going to have to check on ERAS, no.
 
Thank you so much, that was really helpful! It cleared a lot up. I made the mistake of forgetting this is a two step process:

so to be clear, first I use ERAS to apply to the 100 programs, then I use NRMP to rank or couples rank the, say, 20, places I got an interview at.

Yes

I have to add the costs for my SO other and I for each the ERAS, then later the NRMP?

Yes. Both of you end up paying the fees

I can see that it is unlikely that one would receive more than 30 interviews for a residency, so most people I assume do not have to pay more than the basic cost for NRMP?

It's probably more accurate to say that no matter how many interview offers you get, you're unlikely to physically go on more than 20 of them, although it depends. I could imagine someone living in NYC going on many interviews there.

What if someone has 12 interview for residency A and 20 interviews to rank from backup residency B, then would one pay for 32 programs to rank?

Yes. If you were matching alone, you would need to pay for 12 extra spots. If you're couples matching, you'd pay for 2 extra spots.

Why aren't all programs on that link you included by the way - like ophtho, rads and derm, do they have their own special charges for ERAS and NRMP?

Already answered. All programs cost the same. You can use the "psych" line for rads. As mentioned, ophthal is a completely different situation -- they don't use ERAS or NRMP.
 
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