EM Match Advice 50: Making Your Rank List | Program Directors Share Their Best Advice

EM Match Advice 50: Making Rank List

With interview season behind you, it’s time for one of the most important decisions of your medical career: creating your rank list. In this episode of ALiEM Match Advice, host Dr. Sara Krzyzaniak (Stanford EM Program Director) sits down with Dr. Elaine Rabin (Mount Sinai Hospital, Elmhurst Program) and Dr. Miriam Kulkarni (St. John’s Riverside Hospital) to discuss what really matters when ranking programs—and what doesn’t.

Key Dates to Remember

February 2, 2026: Rank list entry opens on NRMP
March 4, 2026: Rank list certification deadline (same for programs and applicants)
March 16, 2026: Match status notification
March 20, 2026: Match Day

Behind the Scenes: What Are Programs Doing Right Now?

While you’re making your rank list, program directors are finalizing theirs too. Dr. Kulkarni and Dr. Rabin pull back the curtain on what’s happening on their end—and share an important perspective about what your rank position actually means once you match.

What Should Drive Your Decisions?

The 3 program directors discuss the factors that truly matter:

Why you should “wipe the slate clean” from your pre-interview expectations
The one question Dr. Kulkarni says is most important: “What do you need to get through something really hard?”
Why “County vs. Academic vs. Community” labels might be misleading you
How to think about imperfection—because no program has everything

Plus: Dr. Krzyzaniak introduces her “brown patches of grass” framework for evaluating programs.

What Doesn’t Matter (But Feels Like It Does)

Learn why you should be skeptical of:

Anonymous online forums and match spreadsheets
Flashy interview day presentations
Minor perks and small salary differences

Dr. Rabin shares a personal story about getting “wooed” during her own rank list process—and what she learned from it.

Practical Tips for the Next Few Weeks

The episode includes concrete advice on:

Where to post your rank list (yes, literally post it somewhere!)
Who to talk to—and when recent graduate advice might be outdated
How to know if you’re overthinking two programs
What to do if your gut keeps pulling you toward a different choice

The Letter of Intent Question

Do letters of intent actually matter? All 3 program directors weigh in with surprisingly consistent advice—including the one absolute rule you must follow if you decide to send one.

Ready for Match Day

Whether you’re confident about your top choice or still sorting through your options, this episode offers honest insights from program directors who want you to succeed. Listen for the full conversation, including personal stories and nuanced advice that goes beyond what we can capture in a blog post.