Unfilled spots?

[ahd929]

I am an M1 just trying to get some more info about different fields. I have frequently heard that radonc is one of the more competitive fields to match in. What confuses me is that in the match statistics, there are at least a few unfilled residency spots every year. If radonc is so competitive, there are presumably plenty of unmatched applicants out there, so why don't those spots fill up during the scramble? Is it that the programs won't bend on their requirements and so would rather remain unfilled? Or, is it that the unmatched applicants would rather not match than compromise on where they do their training?

This question, by the way, would apply to any of the fields that are considered to be the most competitive. They all seem to have unfilled programs every year.

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[Gfunk6]

I'm not sure what you are referring to. There are only a handful of unfilled spots each year that are always filled after the scramble.

 

[radiodog]

The spots filled during the scamble are not considered "matched" by the NRMP b/c they did not fill during the match process. Often one or two programs will not fill b/c everyone they interviewed and ranked went elsewhere. This is why many programs interview 25 applicants per spot and maybe why even great applicants get rejected from certain programs.

 

[ahd929]

thanks! I guess I was just confused about the match process in general and the way the NRMP reports the match results. I thought unfilled spots as reported by the NRMP were unfilled after the scramble. Now I know it means before the scramble. Thanks again.