After submitting applications to residency programs, all residency candidates must play the waiting game to see if they will be receiving any interview invitations. This is quite possibly the most tense time for candidates– apart from Match week. After a few weeks, it’s easy to get discouraged when looking at forum sites or hearing from friends who are receiving interviews while you haven’t heard from a single program.

What many residency candidates don’t realize is that interviews run from September all the way until February. Furthermore, each specialty has its own preferred months to run their interviews. And, these months might be later than you might think! Keep in mind that programs receive thousands of applications, and filters can only do so much. It takes time for programs to look through applications. This means that there will be plenty of time to hear from programs.

Below is a list of specialties with their peak interviewing months by when interviews are offered and when interviews occur as provided by NRMP’s® 2018 Program Director Survey

Anesthesiology

Interviews Offered

• October (44%)
• Prior to October 1st (23%)

Interviews Occur

• November (35%)
• December (33%)

Child Neurology

Interviews Offered

• October (48%)
• Prior to October 1st (21%)

Interviews Occur

• December (41%)
• November (30%)

Dermatology  

Interviews Offered

• November (70%)
• December (15%)

Interviews Occur

• January of Later (53%)
• December (39%)

Emergency Medicine

Interviews Offered

• October (60%)
• November (21%)

Interviews Occur

• November (36%)
• December (34%)

Family Medicine

Interviews Offered

• October (41%)
• Prior to October 1st (29%)

Interviews Occur

• November (33%)
• December (31%)

General Surgery

Interviews Offered

• October (47%)
• November (28%)

Interviews Occur

• December (34%)
• November (33%)

Internal Medicine

Interviews Offered

• October (51%)
• Prior to October 1st (20%)

Interviews Occur

• November (34%)
• December (32%)

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (MedPeds)

Interviews Offered

• October (52%)
• Prior to October 1st (35%)

Interviews Occur

• November (39%)
• December (35%)

Neurology

Interviews Offered

• October (48%)
• Prior to October 1st (31%)

Interviews Occur

• November (37%)
• December (31%)

Neurosurgery

Interviews Offered

• October (59%)
• December (18%)

Interviews Occur

• November (36%)
• December (34%)

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Interviews Offered

• October (60%)
• Prior to October 1st (20%)

Interviews Occur

• November (42%)
• December (36%)

Orthopedic Surgery

Interviews Offered

• November (52%)
• October (21%)

Interviews Occur

• January or Later (54%)
• December (33%)

Pathology

Interviews Offered

• October (46%)
• Prior to October 1st (33%)

Interviews Occur

• November (39%)
• December (30%)

Pediatrics

Interviews Offered

• October (45%)
• Prior to October 1st (37%)

Interviews Occur

• November (34%)
• December (32%)

Physical Med & Rehab

Interviews Offered

• October (47%)
• November (30%)

Interviews Occur

• November (38%)
• December (37%)

Psychiatry

Interviews Offered

• October (54%)
• Prior to October 1st (19%)

Interviews Occur

• November (31%)
• December (30%)

Radiology

Diagnostic Radiology

Interviews Offered

• October (52%)
• Prior to October 1st (21%)

Interviews Occur

• November (33%)
• December (33%)

Transitional Year

Interviews Offered

• October (48%)
• November (25%)

Interviews Occur

• November (29%)
• December (28%)

Once you have conducted an interview, please share your interview experience. Match A Resident’s unique Residency Interview Feedback database is ready to collect your interview feedback to help current and future members with this Match season and beyond.  

Provide your feedback by following this link. No purchase or registration necessary to contribute: https://www.matcharesident.com/interview-feedback

DISCLAIMER: This information is not an indication of a deadline, just when the majority of programs run interviews. Programs may deadline early to prepare for interviews. Programs may stop accepting applications at any time and do not have to indicate their status change on ERAS. You may also receive interviews during months not listed.

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