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Residency Second Look: Does It Matter? 2027 Dates
What a residency second look is, whether it can change your rank, what NRMP and specialty rules say, and eight programs' 2027 second look dates and policies.
A residency second look is an optional visit to a program after your interview, usually in person and usually in February 2027. At most programs that publish a policy, going or skipping cannot change your rank, because they submit or lock their list first. Go only where a visit could change your own order, and before you certify by March 3, 2027, 9 p.m. Eastern.
What a residency second look is
NRMP describes post-interview visits as “virtual or in person visits hosted by the program after the virtual interviews conclude and are intended to provide applicants with the opportunity to visit and learn more about the program before constructing their rank order list.” Programs also call them open houses. With most interviews now on Zoom, a second look is often your first time in the hospital and the city. Read what happens on residency interview day for the interview itself.
What eight programs' second look pages say
Eight programs across six specialties, read October 22, 2026. Under each program: its specialty, linked to our practice page for it.
| Program | Its second look page says |
|---|---|
| LSU New OrleansPediatrics | In person, after virtual interviews: leadership, a hospital tour, the city, lunch with residents. Its list is certified first, so going will not affect your rank. Source |
| BrownPsychiatry | In person, after its rank list is submitted, so it will not change your rank. Date to come. RSVPs go to a resident not involved in selection. Source |
| UVAFamily medicine | In person in February, after the program certifies its list but before you must certify yours. Source |
| PennNeurology | Optional, in person on February 5, 19 or 26, 2027. Noon conference, a hospital tour and a resident social. Rank lists are submitted before. Source |
| UT SouthwesternEmergency medicine | In person, late January or early February. The list is finalized first. No effect on rank except for egregious lapses in professionalism. Source |
| East CarolinaEmergency medicine | Optional, the first two weekends of February 2027. Its list is projected to be certified February 3, before the events. Same professionalism exception. Source |
| NorthwesternEmergency medicine | Optional, in person on November 24, December 16, January 13 and February 3. The page lists dates only. Source |
| UCLAInternal medicine | No in-person second looks this season, decided with peer programs to ease applicants' cost and travel. Source |
Does a second look affect your rank?
The rules point one way. The NRMP code for programs says “Programs are encouraged not to require or imply that second visits are used in determining applicant placement on a rank order list.” Pediatrics program directors go further for 2026-27: “In-person visits should have NO bearing on placement on a program's rank order list (ROL).” In emergency medicine, CORD says “Programs are strongly encouraged to submit their rank order list prior to hosting any second look events, virtual or in-person.”
There is one exception to know. CORD adds that “Programs may wish to reserve the right to amend their rank lists in the event of major professionalism lapses demonstrated at a second-look event.” UT Southwestern and East Carolina both use that wording, with no effect on rank “except for egregious lapses in professionalism”.
For the 2027 Match, NRMP runs a rank list lock pilot with internal medicine, pediatrics and vascular surgery. “Programs in those three specialties will have the opportunity to participate in the pilot again for the 2027 Main Residency Match.” Participating programs lock their list in R3 by February 8, 2027 or 24 hours before their first in-person visit, and “The RSVP process is blinded so program leadership and staff will not see which applicants intend to participate or not until after the ROL is locked.” If a program has not locked in time, NRMP says “you must decide whether to attend the visit with the understanding that the program may change their rank order list after the visit.”
How to decide whether to go
“Participating in a post-interview visit is voluntary.” Pediatrics program directors say “Applicants should NOT feel obligated to attend and should use this for the few programs (at most) that they feel would be beneficial for their decision-making.” They also warn “Offering in-person visits/second looks can put undue pressure and economic burden on applicants and extend the interview season for both applicants and programs.” Ask yourself five questions first.
Is the program near the top of your list?
Pediatrics program directors say to use second looks for the few programs at most that would help your decision. If a visit cannot move a program up or down for you, skip it.
Is there a question only a visit can answer?
The feel of the city, the commute, the hospital itself, how residents act with each other off camera. If your question is about schedules, call shifts or benefits, email the program instead.
What does it cost you?
Add travel, a night or two of lodging and the days away from rotations. APPD calls in-person visits especially cost and time prohibitive for international medical graduates.
Has the program locked or submitted its list?
Check the program's page. Internal medicine, pediatrics and vascular surgery programs in the NRMP lock pilot show a lock in R3 once their list is locked.
Does the date fall before your own deadline?
A visit is only useful if it comes before you certify. Most fall in February, and a few, like Northwestern emergency medicine, start in November.
What to ask and do on the visit
A second look is for your questions, not theirs. Our list of questions to ask at a residency interview has the resident questions that matter most here. The NRMP code for applicants says you “must not solicit or engage in post-interview communication for the purposes of influencing or ascertaining a program's ranking intentions.”
Bring your top three open questions
Write them from your interview day notes. These are the questions that decide your order, not the ones the website already answers.
Spend most of the time with residents
Ask about a hard rotation, how the program handled a recent problem and what they would change. Watch how they talk to each other.
See the places you would live and work
Drive or ride the commute, walk the neighborhoods residents live in and see the call rooms and workrooms on the tour.
Keep it professional
Some emergency medicine programs say egregious lapses in professionalism can still change your position, even when attendance cannot.
Do not ask how they will rank you
The NRMP code for applicants rules out post-interview communication meant to learn a program's ranking intentions. That includes questions at a visit.
Write three lines that evening
What changed, what you liked and where the program now sits on your list. Then update your list while it is fresh.
Second looks and the 2027 rank list deadline
Ranking opens February 1, 2027, 12 p.m. Eastern and your list must be certified by March 3, 2027, 9 p.m. Eastern. Pediatrics guidance says “No in-person visits should be held prior to February 2, 2027 and not before the program rank order list is locked.” So most visits land in that February window. NRMP's advice to applicants: “If you know there are programs you may be interested in visiting, take that into consideration for your schedule in February.”
Certify a first version of your list as soon as ranking opens, then change it after each visit. Every change needs a new certification before the deadline. Our guide to building your rank list covers how the algorithm uses it. Pediatrics program directors add that “Letters of intent are not expected and, if sent, should only be sent to one program.” If you plan one, read residency letters of intent first.
If interviews are still ahead, they matter more than any visit. A strong answer names one real patient or moment and ties it to why this program fits you. The residency interview practice page has questions by specialty.
Sources: the NRMP Match Codes of Conduct for programs and applicants, NRMP's rank list lock pilot and its 2027 FAQs, the 2027 Match calendar, the APPD 2026-27 recommendations, CORD's 2026-27 best practices and the second look pages of LSU, Brown, UVA, Penn, UT Southwestern, East Carolina, Northwestern and UCLA. All checked October 22, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does going to a residency second look affect your rank?
At most programs that publish a policy, no. LSU, Brown, UVA, Penn, UT Southwestern and East Carolina all hold their visits after their own list is submitted, certified or finalized. Some emergency medicine programs keep one exception, for egregious lapses in professionalism.
Do I have to go to a second look?
No. NRMP's lock pilot FAQs call the visit voluntary, the NRMP code asks programs not to require second visits, and pediatrics program directors say applicants should not feel obligated to attend.
When are residency second looks for the 2027 Match?
Mostly in February 2027, between ranking opening on February 1 and the March 3 certification deadline. Pediatrics programs should hold none before February 2. A few programs, like Northwestern emergency medicine, offer dates from November. How the 2027 rank list works.
What is the NRMP rank order list lock pilot?
For the 2027 Match, internal medicine, pediatrics and vascular surgery programs can lock their rank list in R3 before their visits, so whether you go cannot change it. Participating programs are expected to lock by February 8, 2027 or 24 hours before their first in-person visit.
What should I ask at a residency second look?
The few questions that will decide your order, mostly for residents: daily life, the city, the commute and how the program handles problems. Do not ask how the program will rank you. Questions to ask at a residency interview.