Specialty Factors

In March 2022, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) conducted its survey of directors of programs participating in the Main Residency Match ® with the primary purpose of characterizing the factors that Program Directors use to (1) select applicants to interview, and (2) rank applicants for the Main Residency Match. See results of the Program Director Survey for Neurology below:

The Top 5 Most Important NEUROLOGY Application Factors

Percentage of Programs Citing Each Factor

1. USMLE Step 1 score (96.6%)
2. MSPE (93.1%)
3. USMLE Step 2 CK score (89.7%)
4. Any failed attempt at USMLE (82.8%)
5. Class ranking/quartile, Grades in clerkship in preferred specialty (75.9%)

Average Importance Rating for Each Factor (scale of 1 to 5)

1. Professionalism and ethics(4.6)
2. NRMP flag for match violation (4.6)
3. Leadership qualities (4.4)
4. Perceived commitment to specialty (4.3)
5. Letters of recommendation in specialty (4.2)