---
title: "Not matching, SOAP and a year between Matches"
canonical: "https://www.joinandwise.com/crossings/not-matching-and-soap"
checked: "2026-10-21"
claim: "andwise:crossing/not-matching-and-soap@2026-10-21"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Not matching, SOAP and a year between Matches

An accepted SOAP offer binds as a match does. The 2027 Match Week dates, SOAP's rules, who is paid, and what a year between Matches does to loans.

**The decision:** Accepting a SOAP offer during Match Week, or choosing a research or other year before the next Match.

## What changes

- Positions offered and accepted during SOAP are a binding commitment under the 2027 Match Participation Agreement (§8.0), as a match is. Neither the applicant nor the program can release the other; only the NRMP can grant a waiver. ([NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §8.0 (SOAP)](https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-MPA-Main-Match-MedicalSchool.pdf); [NRMP help: declining a matched position](https://www.nrmp.org/help/item/what-happens-if-i-obtain-a-position-and-decide-not-to-accept-it-can-my-program-release-me-from-my-obligation-to-attend/); checked 2026-11-03)
- To take part in SOAP, an applicant must be registered for the Main Residency Match, verified as eligible to start graduate medical education on July 1 of the Match year, and partially or fully unmatched on Monday of Match Week (MPA §8.2.1). Until SOAP ends, an eligible applicant applies only to SOAP-participating programs and accepts offers only through the R3 system (§8.2.3). ([NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §8.0 (SOAP)](https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-MPA-Main-Match-MedicalSchool.pdf); checked 2026-11-03)
- A fully unmatched, SOAP-eligible applicant can stay out of SOAP to take a research post or a master's program only if they submit no applications to Match- or SOAP-participating programs during Match Week, and the position is not affiliated with a participating residency program and does not qualify for ACGME training credit (MPA §8.2.4). ([NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §8.0 (SOAP)](https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-MPA-Main-Match-MedicalSchool.pdf); checked 2026-11-03)
- 2027 Match Week: match status at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, March 15, 2027; four SOAP offer rounds on Thursday, March 18, the first offers at 9:00 a.m. ET and the last acceptance deadline at 8:00 p.m. ET; SOAP ends at 9:00 p.m. ET; Match Day is Friday, March 19, 2027. ([NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match applicant calendar](https://www.nrmp.org/match-calendars/main-residency-applicants/); checked 2026-11-03)
- Direct Loans have a 6-month grace period that starts when a borrower drops below half-time enrollment, such as at graduation. The regulation ties it to enrollment, not to the start of a residency. Interest on unsubsidized loans accrues during grace. ([34 CFR 685.207, grace periods](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.207); [Federal Student Aid: interest rates and fees](https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates); checked 2026-10-21)
- Under RAP, AGI of $10,000 or less sets a $120 annual base payment, and after the $50-a-month reduction for each dependent the payment is never below $10 a month. IBR charges 10% of AGI above 150% of the poverty guideline (15% for borrowers with loans before July 1, 2014), and a computed payment under $5 is $0. In a year with no income, that is $10 a month under RAP and $0 under IBR. ([34 CFR 685.209, income-driven repayment plans, including RAP](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.209); [Public Law 119-21 (2025), Title VIII, §§81001 and 82001–82004](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ21/html/PLAW-119publ21.htm); [20 U.S.C. §1098e, income-based repayment](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1098e); checked 2026-10-21)
- RAP and IBR base the payment on the most recent tax year's AGI. When that AGI does not reasonably reflect current income, for example after a year on a research stipend, the borrower can document current income instead. ([34 CFR 685.209, income-driven repayment plans, including RAP](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.209); [Public Law 119-21 (2025), Title VIII, §§81001 and 82001–82004](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ21/html/PLAW-119publ21.htm); checked 2026-10-21)
- The mandatory residency forbearance is granted for a medical or dental internship or residency, up to 12 months at a time. Economic hardship deferment applies to loans disbursed before July 1, 2027, up to three years in total, when monthly income is at or below the greater of the federal minimum wage measure or 150% of the poverty guideline; under RAP, those months count toward forgiveness. ([34 CFR 685.205, forbearance](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.205); [Federal Student Aid: forbearance](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/lower-payments/get-temporary-relief/forbearance); [Public Law 119-21 (2025), Title VIII, §§81001 and 82001–82004](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ21/html/PLAW-119publ21.htm); checked 2026-10-21)
- A research or other year counts toward PSLF only for months of full-time work, an average of at least 30 hours a week, at a qualifying employer, with a qualifying payment in that month. ([34 CFR 685.219, Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.219); checked 2026-10-21)
- Arkansas: The board's Graduate Registered Physician license is for graduates who did not match and ends when the holder enters residency. ([Arkansas State Medical Board, training license (Arkansas)](https://www.armedicalboard.org/Professionals/pdf/mpa.pdf); checked 2026-10-21)
- Not measured: What paid residency-application advising services charge, and how those fees are structured across the field.

## Who is paid for what

- **The NRMP.** Charges each applicant an $85 registration fee for the Main Residency Match, which covers up to 20 program codes on the primary rank order list, plus $30 for each additional code and $50 for registering after January 29. Institutions pay $300 per Match, programs $100 per program track and $85 per certified position. ([NRMP, Match fees](https://www.nrmp.org/intro-to-the-match/match-fees/)) Not part of its role: Placing an applicant in a program, or advising on which offer to accept.
- **The residency program and its sponsoring institution.** Medicare pays teaching hospitals for graduate medical education: a direct payment from a per-resident amount and the weighted count of residents, plus an add-on to each Medicare inpatient payment. Resident counts are generally capped at each hospital's 1996 level. ([CMS, direct graduate medical education (DGME) payments](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/direct-graduate-medical-education-dgme); [CMS, indirect medical education (IME) adjustment](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/indirect-medical-education-ime); [42 CFR 413.79, resident counts and the 1996 cap](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-413.79)) Not part of its role: Advising on loans, a second Match or a year between Matches.
- **A paid application-advising service.** No published source recorded yet. Not part of its role: No services are listed or ranked; a service's fee schedule and refund terms are its own documents.
- **Federal loan servicer.** The Department of Education pays contracted servicers a monthly amount for each borrower account. Under the contracts in effect since April 2024, it can withhold up to 5% of a bill for each missed performance metric, up to 20% in total. ([GAO-16-523, federal student loan servicing (May 2016)](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-523.pdf); [GAO-26-108534, student loan servicing contracts (March 2026)](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108534.pdf)) Not part of its role: Choosing a repayment plan for the borrower.

## Costs that come later

- Accepting a SOAP offer, preliminary or categorical → A July 1 start, and the state training license that must be in place before it — https://www.joinandwise.com/residency
- Signing the SOAP program's residency agreement → Salary, leave, moonlighting, non-renewal notice and due-process terms for the year — https://www.joinandwise.com/documents
- A preliminary year with no categorical position after it → A second Match, and the months until attending pay, measured against an attending salary — https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/career
- A year between Matches as grace runs out → The first loan payment, six months after graduation — https://www.joinandwise.com/loans/repayment
- A research stipend as the next return's AGI → The RAP or IBR payment based on that return — https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/loans

## What is fixed and what moves

- An accepted SOAP offer: Mostly fixed. Binding under the Match Participation Agreement; only the NRMP can grant a waiver. ([NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §8.0 (SOAP)](https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-MPA-Main-Match-MedicalSchool.pdf); [NRMP help: declining a matched position](https://www.nrmp.org/help/item/what-happens-if-i-obtain-a-position-and-decide-not-to-accept-it-can-my-program-release-me-from-my-obligation-to-attend/))
- The grace period: Set by law. 34 CFR 685.207. ([34 CFR 685.207, grace periods](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.207))

## Deadlines

- SOAP Round 1 on March 18, 2027: offers at 9:00 a.m. ET, accept or reject by 11:00 a.m. ET; rounds follow at noon, 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET, each with two hours to answer — Set by the program or a licensing body
- July 1, 2027: the start date a SOAP applicant must be eligible for — Set by the program or a licensing body
- End of grace: 6 months after dropping below half-time enrollment — Set by law
- Loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2027 have no economic hardship or unemployment deferment — Set by law

## Tools

- [Compare repayment plans](https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/loans): RAP and IBR on a research stipend or on no income, and when the first payment falls.
- [Loan repayment comparison](https://www.joinandwise.com/loans/repayment): RAP, IBR and Tiered Standard side by side, from the end of grace.
- [Read a residency agreement](https://www.joinandwise.com/documents): Salary, leave, non-renewal notice and due process, quoted with page numbers, on this device.
- [Training licenses by state](https://www.joinandwise.com/residency): Who applies, lead times and fees, which matter more for a start arranged in March.
- [Compare ways of working](https://www.joinandwise.com/decide/career): Pay and hours side by side, to measure months before attending pay.

## Questions

### The SOAP program

- What is the start date, and when does the residency agreement arrive for signature?
- Does the state require a training license before that start date, and who files it?
- For a preliminary position, what does the program say about the year after it?

### The loan servicer

- When does the grace period end on each loan, and when is the first payment due?
- What would the RAP and IBR payments be on the most recent return's AGI, and can current income be documented instead?
- Which of these loans could use economic hardship deferment in a year between Matches, and does interest accrue during it?

### The NRMP or the medical school's Match office

- Does this research or master's position meet the conditions in MPA §8.2.4 for staying out of SOAP?
- What would a waiver request for an accepted SOAP position need to show?

The rules, dates and payments around SOAP and a year between Matches set the timeline; whether to accept an offer is a separate question.

## Sources

- [NRMP, 2027 Match Participation Agreement, §8.0 (SOAP)](https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-MPA-Main-Match-MedicalSchool.pdf)
- [NRMP help: declining a matched position](https://www.nrmp.org/help/item/what-happens-if-i-obtain-a-position-and-decide-not-to-accept-it-can-my-program-release-me-from-my-obligation-to-attend/)
- [NRMP, 2027 Main Residency Match applicant calendar](https://www.nrmp.org/match-calendars/main-residency-applicants/)
- [34 CFR 685.207, grace periods](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.207)
- [Federal Student Aid: interest rates and fees](https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates)
- [34 CFR 685.209, income-driven repayment plans, including RAP](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.209)
- [Public Law 119-21 (2025), Title VIII, §§81001 and 82001–82004](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ21/html/PLAW-119publ21.htm)
- [20 U.S.C. §1098e, income-based repayment](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1098e)
- [34 CFR 685.205, forbearance](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.205)
- [Federal Student Aid: forbearance](https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/lower-payments/get-temporary-relief/forbearance)
- [34 CFR 685.219, Public Service Loan Forgiveness](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-685.219)
- [Arkansas State Medical Board, training license (Arkansas)](https://www.armedicalboard.org/Professionals/pdf/mpa.pdf)
- [NRMP, Match fees](https://www.nrmp.org/intro-to-the-match/match-fees/)
- [CMS, direct graduate medical education (DGME) payments](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/direct-graduate-medical-education-dgme)
- [CMS, indirect medical education (IME) adjustment](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/acute-inpatient-pps/indirect-medical-education-ime)
- [42 CFR 413.79, resident counts and the 1996 cap](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-413.79)
- [GAO-16-523, federal student loan servicing (May 2016)](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-523.pdf)
- [GAO-26-108534, student loan servicing contracts (March 2026)](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-26-108534.pdf)

Reviewed 2026-11-03; oldest source check 2026-10-21. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The text states what the law and rules say; applying them to a contract is a question for a licensed professional.