Transition to Residency

Interview Season

• Standards and Guidelines

  For academic year 2026–2027, we request that obstetrics and gynecology program directors adopt the following recommended guidelines:

  • Set the application submission deadline for September 17, 2026

  • Release all interview offers on October 27, 2026 (with rolling offers to follow depending on the response each program receives)

  • Limit program interview invitations to the number of interview slots available

  • Allow a minimum of 48 hours after an interview invitation email has been sent for the applicant to accept or decline

  • Begin interviews no earlier than November 1, 2026

  • Release final status to applicants (interview, reject, waitlist) no later than November 25, 2026

  • Commit to virtual interviews for all applicants, including local students. 

  • One Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) will continue to be part of the application package. The SLOE will be integrated in ResidencyCAS and directly filled out by the letter writer in the application platform. The SLOE will replace one of the traditional letters of recommendation (LOR) or the Chair’s letter; applicants should still include two to three other traditional LORs based on each program’s requirement. The updated 2026- 2027 SLOE template and applicable resources can be found at https://apgo.org/page/rrrapplicant.

  • Program Signaling: Each applicant may choose to send a total of 18 signals with their application (3 gold signals for programs of highest interest and 15 silver signals for programs of high interest)

  • We are utilizing a tool with AMA FREIDA for students to use to explore residency programs called the Alignment Check Index (ACI). Programs that participate in this tool provide their recruiting priorities in 6 categories. Applicants will not see the program priorities. Applicants will be able to enter certain information about their background, experiences and academics and receive a list of programs that may align with the programs’ recruiting priorities. The ACI tool and AMA FREIDA search filters are intended to complement personal advising and other current tools available to applicants as the applicant considers their career interests and learning styles.

  We hope these changes will help students and programs by making the application process easier.

  Thank you for all you do for our students/applicants and please provide feedback or let us know if you have any questions at [email protected].

• Approach to 2nd Look Visits

  The RRR Grant Project Team, in collaboration with APGO and CREOG leadership, has worked through many transitions in the residency application process over the past several years, including the institution of virtual residency interviews. Although outcomes from virtual interviews have been very reassuring, there continues to be significant interest in offering candidates an opportunity to visit programs in-person, particularly as the country has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The RRR Grant team, APGO, and CREOG recognize that in-person 2nd look visits may be important to certain applicants. For some, the opportunity to experience the training site(s), the residents with whom they would work, and the city in which they would live may be quite valuable. In addition, OBGYN residency training programs are also varied —in size (large vs small), type of center (university vs community-based), and location (urban vs rural). Different programs may desire to adopt different types of recruitment strategies. Given the potential benefits to applicants and programs, we support a program’s desire to offer opportunities for applicants to visit their program (or institution, or city) in person, after virtual interviews have been completed.

  Programs, however, should be aware that 2nd look visits carry the potential for inequity, particularly if the visit is perceived to influence an applicant’s placement on the Rank Order List. In such a setting, applicants may feel pressured to visit a program in order to show their interest. Additionally, not all applicants will feel the need to visit programs in-person (even if interested), and all applicants may not have the financial means or available time to accommodate such a visit. Factors like available time or money should not impact a candidate’s potential placement on the rank order list.

  Ultimately, we are concerned about the equity of 2nd look visits. Should a program offer an opportunity for in-person visits, their intentions should be communicated to applicants, and the following best-practices are recommended:

  • If offered, in-person visits should not be requested, suggested, or expected by the program.
  • In-person visits should occur after virtual interviews have been completed.
  • Programs should be clear in communicating to applicants that participation will have no impact on the applicant’s placement on the Rank Order List. This is best achieved by committing to finalizing and submitting the program’s Rank Order List before hosting in-person visits or events and communicating this to applicants on the interview day (or on the website).
• CUCOG Statement on Virtual Interviewing

  Read the position statement from Council on University Chairs in Ob-Gyn (CUCOG) on the importance of offering virtual interviewing for additional context.

• Interview Communication Preferences for Applicants

  The intended purpose of these questions is to help programs share their communication preferences with applicants to enhance transparency and reduce post-interview outreach during the 2026-2027 application and interview season.

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