Happy New Year from APPIC!
Each year at this time, I update the education and training community about the
Match registration numbers along with the relative "balance" between
applicants and positions. Unfortunately, this year continues what is now
a three-year trend of increases in the number of registered applicants without
a corresponding increase in internship positions. As a result, the number
of registered applicants exceeds the number of available positions.
As a result of this
concerning trend, APPIC has compiled the following information to inform the
education and training community and to encourage dialogue, reflection, and
action. This information will be distributed in two separate e-mail
messages:
PART 1: Registration
numbers for all Match participants (this message; see below)
PART 2: Additional
statistics that identify the sources of the increase in registered applicants
and the impact of the imbalance on Match rates (via a separate e-mail that will
be sent tomorrow)
We recognize that this
message may be anxiety-provoking to applicants who are in the midst of the
selection process. While that is not our goal, we do want the training
community to be informed so that these concerns can be identified and dialogue about
ways to address them can begin.
----------------------------
As of
December 31, 2025, the total numbers of applicants and internship sites
registered to participate in the 2026 APPIC Match were:
ALL PARTICIPANTS (U.S. AND
CANADA)
• 4,641 registered applicants
(+295 as compared to last year at this time; +753 as
compared to three years ago)
• 3,975 positions offered
(+5 as compared to last year at this time; -31 as compared
to three years ago)
- Accredited: 3,682 (+69)
- Not Accredited: 293 (-64)
• 784 registered internship sites (+7 as
compared to last year at this time)
- Accredited: 688 (+26)
- Not Accredited: 96 (-19)
CANADA ONLY
• 243 registered applicants
(+81 as compared to last year at this time, +46 as compared to two
years ago)
• 205 positions offered
(-12 as compared to last year at this time, +1 as
compared to two years ago)
- Accredited: 181 (-11)
- Not Accredited: 24 (-1)
• 55 registered internship sites (-1
as compared to last year at this time)
- Accredited: 45
(+0)
- Not Accredited: 10 (-1)
NOTE:
These numbers change daily and are a "snapshot" as of December
31 of each year. The final numbers of participating applicants,
positions, and sites are expected to differ from those presented above.
----------------------------
WHAT DO
THESE NUMBERS MEAN?
ALL PARTICIPANTS (U.S. AND
CANADA)
• The number of registered applicants
increased 7% this year (and 19% over a three-year period) while the number of
registered positions was essentially unchanged (and down about 1% over a
three-year period). As of December 31, 2025, the number of
registered applicants exceeded the number of registered internship positions by
666. See Table 1, below, for previous Match registration numbers as
of December 31 of each year.
• Based on previous experience, we know
that approximately 150-250 students withdraw from the Match each year after
registering (applicants withdraw from the Match for a variety of reasons, such
as not having received any interview offers, deciding to delay their internship
until another year, seeking or obtaining a position outside the APPIC Match,
etc.). Even considering these likely withdrawals, we predict that the
number of participating applicants will exceed the number of available internship
positions when the APPIC Match occurs next month.
• The number of accredited positions
in the Match increased this year and is now at its highest level ever,
representing 93% of all registered positions; see Table 2. Despite this
increase, the gap between the number of accredited positions (3,682) and the
number of registered applicants (4,641) increased this year to 959 as compared
to 281 three years ago. Overall, an accredited position exists for only
79% of registered applicants, down from 93% three years ago.
CANADA ONLY
• The number of registered applicants
from Canadian schools has shifted in the past two years:
2024 Match: 197
2025 Match: 162 (-18%)
2026 Match: 243 (+50%)
• Over that same two-year period, the
number of positions has remained essentially unchanged.
• Based on these numbers, and
considering that approximately 10-15 applicants from Canadian programs withdraw
from the Match each year (for the reasons described above), we predict that the
number of applicants from Canadian schools will exceed the number of positions
in Canada when the APPIC Match occurs next month. That is the opposite of
last year's situation, when the number of positions exceeded the number of
applicants and resulted in some Canadian positions remaining unfilled. Please
see Table 3, below, for more information.
A history of registration numbers for 27
years of APPIC Matches are provided below in Table 4. Additional
statistics from previous matches can be found at www.appic.org -- click on the
"Internships" pull-down menu, then on "Match Statistics."
----------------------------
HISTORY OF
REGISTRATION NUMBERS AS OF DECEMBER 31
The table
below presents the registration numbers from the past 28 years (since the APPIC
Match was initiated), as of December 31 of each year, along with
the change from the previous year:
=======================================================
TABLE
1
APPIC MATCH REGISTRATION NUMBERS AS OF DECEMBER 31
Applicants Positions
Sites
Reg Chg Reg
Chg Reg Chg
=========== ===========
============
12/31/98
3,119 2,659
609
12/31/99 3,147 +28 2,773 +114
623 +14
12/31/00 3,180 +33 2,771 -2
625 +2
12/31/01 3,039 -141 2,766 -5
617 -8
12/31/02 3,146 +107 2,774 +8
619 +2
12/31/03 3,230 +84 2,753 -21
628 +9
12/31/04 3,360 +130 2,778 +25
621 -7
12/31/05 3,432 +72 2,811 +33
630 +9
12/31/06 3,620 +188 2,904 +93
641 +11
12/31/07 3,671 +51 3,057 +153
666 +25
12/31/08 3,759 +88 3,136 +79
687 +21
12/31/09 3,737 -22 3,157 +21
690 +3
12/31/10 4,104 +367 3,214 +57
705 +15
12/31/11
4,358 +254 3,210 -4 712
+7
12/31/12
4,384 +26 3,335 +125 725
+13
12/31/13
4,252 -132 3,522 +187 749
+24
12/31/14
4,163 -89 3,665 +143 772
+23
12/31/15
3,940 -223 3,792 +127 786
+14
12/31/16
3,881 -59 3,858 +66 786
0
12/31/17
3,686 -195 3,925 +67 794
+8
12/31/18
3,753 +67 3,902 -23 788
-6
12/31/19
3,827 +73 3,872 -30 770
-18
12/31/20 4,095 +268 3,765
-107 745 -25
12/31/21 3,915 -180 3,872
+107 755 +10
12/31/22 3,888 -27
4,006 +134 777 +22
12/31/23 4,068 +180
3,981 -25 769 -8
12/31/24 4,346 +278
3,970 -11 777 +8
12/31/25
4,641 +295 3,975 +5 784
+7
=======================================================
ACCREDITATION
STATUS OF POSITIONS: Below are the numbers of registered positions by
accreditation status as of December 31 of each year:
=======================================================
TABLE
2
NUMBER
OF REGISTERED ACCREDITED AND NON-ACCREDITED
POSITIONS AS OF DECEMBER 31
Accredited Non-Accred
Total
Positions
Positions Positions
========== ==========
=========
Dec 31,
2011 2,366 844
3,210
Dec 31,
2012 2,442 893
3,335
Dec 31,
2013 2,587 935
3,522
Dec 31,
2014 2,725 940
3,665
Dec 31,
2015 2,956 836
3,792
Dec 31,
2016 3,159 699
3,858
Dec 31,
2017 3,373 552
3,925
Dec 31,
2018 3,436 466
3,902
Dec 31,
2019 3,509 363
3,872
Dec 31, 2020
3,508
257 3,765
Dec 31, 2021
3,538
334 3,872
Dec 31, 2022
3,607
399 4,006
Dec 31, 2023
3,653
328 3,981
Dec 31, 2024
3,613
357 3,970
Dec 31,
2025 3,682 293
3,975
=======================================================
CANADIAN
PARTICIPANTS: The table below presents the registration numbers from
the past 16 years for Canadian applicants and programs, as of December 31 of
each year, along with the change from the previous year.
========================================================
TABLE
3
APPIC MATCH REGISTRATION NUMBERS AS OF DECEMBER 31
FOR CANADIAN APPLICANTS AND PROGRAMS
Applicants
Positions Sites
Reg
Chg Reg Chg Reg Chg
==========
========= =========
Dec 31, 2010
176 131
37
Dec 31, 2011 213 +37 146
+15 39 +2
Dec 31, 2012 197 -16 151
+5 40 +1
Dec 31, 2013
187 -10 165 +14
43 +3
Dec 31, 2014
191 +4 172 +7
45 +2
Dec 31, 2015
189 -2 162 -10
42 -3
Dec 31, 2016
191 +2 161 -1
41 -1
Dec 31, 2017
168 -23 163 +2
41 0
Dec 31, 2018
184 +16 186 +23
48 +7
Dec 31, 2019
194 +10 195 +9
48 0
Dec 31, 2020 206 +12
189 -6 47 -1
Dec 31, 2021 209 +3
204 +15 51 +4
Dec 31, 2022 197 -12
209 +5 52 +1
Dec 31, 2023 197
0 204 -5
55 +3
Dec 31, 2024 162 -35
217 +10 56 +1
Dec 31, 2025
243 +81 205 -12 55
-1
=======================================================
HISTORY OF
FINAL MATCH PARTICIPATION NUMBERS
For
comparison purposes, below are the final numbers of registered applicants and
participating positions from each of the 27 previous APPIC Matches.
Note that the numbers below are as of Match Day in late February for each
year, rather than for the preceding December 31. Applicant numbers
include those who withdrew or did not submit a Rank Order List.
=======================================================
TABLE
4
NUMBER OF REGISTERED APPLICANTS AND PARTICIPATING
INTERNSHIP POSITIONS IN PREVIOUS APPIC MATCHES
Applicants
Positions Difference
1999 Match 3,135
2,631 -504
2000 Match 3,174
2,713 -461
2001 Match 3,204
2,763 -441
2002 Match 3,073
2,752 -321
2003 Match 3,174
2,718 -456
2004 Match 3,258
2,732 -526
2005 Match 3,389
2,757 -632
2006 Match 3,479
2,779 -700
2007 Match 3,698
2,884 -814
2008 Match 3,759
3,058 -701
2009 Match 3,825
3,051 -774
2010 Match 3,890
3,101 -789
2011 Match* 4,199 3,166
-1,033
2012 Match* 4,435 3,190
-1,245
2013 Match* 4,481 3,376
-1,105
2014 Match* 4,335 3,501
-834
2015 Match* 4,247 3,684
-563
2016 Match* 3,999 3,800
-199
2017 Match* 3,921 3,849
-72
2018 Match* 3,779 3,906
+127
2019 Match* 3,847 3,862
+15
2020 Match*
3,891
3,863 -28
2021 Match*
4,139
3,775 -364
2022 Match*
3,980
3,876 -104
2023 Match*
3,955
4,005 +50
2024 Match*
4,071
3,954 -117
2025 Match* 4,356 3,819
-537
=======================================================
* = Data from
2011-2025 is from Phase I of the Match