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Match Statistics - 2021 - Phase I

2021 APPIC Match Statistics - Phase I

Match Report from the APPIC Board of Directors
February 19, 2021

 

We are pleased to report that 3,365 applicants were successfully matched to internship positions in Phase I of the 2021 APPIC Match. A total of 44% of all applicants who obtained a position matched to their first choice internship program, two-thirds (67%) received one of their top two choices, and about four-in-five (80%) received one of their top three choices.

A total of 584 applicants were not matched to an internship position in Phase I, while an additional 190 applicants withdrew or did not submit a Rank Order List. A total of 410 positions remained unfilled.

There were 166 internship sites (22%) that had at least one unfilled position. This includes 109 of 658 (17%) accredited sites and 57 of 86 (66%) non-accredited sites.

Internship Supply and Demand: After several years of a relative "balance" between the numbers of applicants and positions in the APPIC Match, a somewhat different picture emerged this year. The table below summarizes the increase in student participation as compared to last year along with a decrease in available positions. The number of applicants now exceeds the number of positions by 364, which is the largest gap since 2015. Furthermore, the number of applicants now exceeds the number of accredited positions by 624.


          2020 MATCH       2021 MATCH
CHANGE

 
Applicants: Registered for the Match (Phase I)
3,891   
4,139    +248    (+6%)
   

Positions: Offered in the Match (Phase I)
3,863   
3,775    -88    (-2%)
   

  Accredited (APA or CPA)
3,513   
3,515    +2     (+0%)
  Non-Accredited
350   
260    -90    (-26%)
   

Number of registered applicants exceeded number of positions by:
28   
364   
+336   
   

Number of registered applicants exceeded number of accredited positions by:
378   
624   
+246   

As can be seen in the above table, the number of accredited positions remained stable while the number of unaccredited positions decreased. This decrease may have been due, at least in part, to the recent mission-driven APPIC policy change that began requiring APPIC membership in order to participate in the Match. The pandemic and resulting economic challenges may have also played a role. Furthermore, this change is consistent with a multi-year trend in which the number of non-accredited positions in Phase I decreased from 952 in 2015 to 260 this year.

With regard to this year's increase in applicants, the following table summarizes the one-year change in registered applicants in Phase I across doctoral program areas:

APPLICANT REGISTRATION NUMBERS IN THE APPIC MATCH: 2020 VS. 2021
PROGRAM TYPE
DEGREE SOUGHT
2020
2021
1-YEAR CHANGE
Clinical
Ph.D.
1,429
1,458
+29
+2%
Psy.D.
1,603
1,728
+125
+8%
TOTALS
3,032
3,186
+154
+5%
Counseling
Ph.D.
359
394
+35
+10%
Psy.D.
111
114
+3
+3%
TOTALS
470
508
+38
+8%
School
Ph.D.
213
244
+31
+15%
Psy.D.
39
55
+16
+41%
TOTALS
252
299
+47
+19%
Combined
Ph.D.
67
71
+4
+6%
Psy.D.
70
75
+5
+7%
TOTALS
137
146
+9
+7%
ALL PROGRAMS
Ph.D.
2,068
2,167
+99
+5%
Psy.D.
1,823
1,972
+149
+8%
TOTALS
3,891
4,139
+248
+6%


The 2021 APPIC Match statistics are provided below, in four sections:




APPLICANTS

PARTICIPATION IN PHASE I
Applicants Registered in the Match
4,139
Applicants Who Withdrew or Did Not Submit Ranks
190
Applicants Who Submitted Ranks for the Match
(includes 38 applicants who submitted ranks for the Match as 19 "couples")
3,949


APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN PHASE I
Number of Applicants Who Submitted Applications in Phase I
4,073
Total Number of Applications Submitted in Phase I
60,027
Average Number of Applications Submitted in Phase I (SD = 4.8)
14.7
Median Number of Applications Submitted in Phase I
15
Range of Applications Submitted in Phase I
1 - 46


MATCH RESULTS IN PHASE I
Applicants Matched
3,365
85%
Applicants Not Matched
584
15%


MATCH RESULTS BY RANK NUMBER ON APPLICANT'S LIST
(Percentages may not total to 100 due to rounding errors)
Rank
Number of Applicants
1
1,497
44%
2
764
23%
3
439
13%
4
300
9%
5
129
4%
6
109
3%
7
47
1%
8
27
1%
9
30
1%
10 or higher
23
1%
TOTAL
3,365
100%


RANKINGS IN PHASE I
                Average Number of Rankings Submitted Per Applicant:
Matched Applicants
8.3
Unmatched Applicants
3.9
Overall
7.6

Each Position Was Ranked by an Average of 8.0 Applicants.




INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS


PARTICIPATION IN PHASE I
Training Sites Available in the Match
744
Programs Available in the Match
1,486
Positions Available in the Match
3,775

NOTE: A "training site" can offer more than one "program" in the Match. Each "program" was identified in the Match by a separate 6-digit code number.


APPLICATIONS RECEIVED IN PHASE I
Sites Receiving Applications in Phase I
758
Total Number of Applications Received in Phase I
60,027
Average Number of Applications Received in Phase I (SD = 66.5)
79.2
Median Number of Applications Received in Phase I
64
Range of Applications Received in Phase I
1 - 438

NOTE: For comparison purposes, last year (2020) 768 sites received a total of 55,416 applications. Mean number received in 2020 = 72.2 (SD = 59.3), Median = 59, Range = 1-367.



MATCH RESULTS IN PHASE I
               Sites:
Filled in the Match
578
78%
With Unfilled Positions
166
22%
               Programs:
Filled in the Match
1,246
84%
With Unfilled Positions
240
16%
               Positions:
Filled in the Match
3,365
89%
Remaining Unfilled
410
11%

NOTE: 24 programs at 22 sites submitted fewer ranks than the number of positions available. As a result, no ranks were submitted for 41 positions, which remained unfilled.


APA- OR CPA- ACCREDITED POSITIONS
Filled in the Match
3,227
92%
Remaining Unfilled
288
8%
TOTAL
3,515


NON-ACCREDITED POSITIONS
Filled in the Match
138
53%
Remaining Unfilled
122
47%
TOTAL
260

Non-accredited positions represented 6.9% of all positions but 29.8% of unfilled positions.


INTERNSHIP MATCH RATES BY ACCREDITATION STATUS
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ACCREDITATION STATUS
POSITIONS FILLED
SITES FILLING ALL POSITIONS
APA- or CPA-Accredited
3,227 of 3,515
92%
549 of 658
83%
Not Accredited
138 of 260
53%
29 of 86
34%

Included in the numbers for accredited sites shown above are 37 sites that were designated "Accredited, On Contingency". These 37 sites had 92% (131 of 143) of their positions filled in Phase I, with 31 of the 37 sites (84%) filling all of their positions.


RANKINGS IN PHASE I
               Average Number of Applicants Ranked Per Position Offered for Each Program:
Programs Filling All Positions
9.3
Programs With Unfilled Positions
4.7
All Programs
8.6

Each Registered Applicant Was Ranked by an Average of 6.8 Different Programs.




DOCTORAL PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND RESULTS


SUMMARY OF PARTICIPATING DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
PROGRAM TYPE
DEGREE SOUGHT
NUMBER OF DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
NUMBER OF REGISTERED APPLICANTS
 
 
Accredited
Non-Accred.
Totals
Accredited
Non-Accred.
Totals
Clinical
Ph.D.
200
1
201
1,455
3
1,458
Psy.D.
72
1
73
1,717
11
1,728
TOTALS
272
2
274
3,172
14
3,186
Counseling
Ph.D.
67
0
67
394
0
394
Psy.D.
10
2
12
100
14
114
TOTALS
77
2
79
494
14
508
School
Ph.D.
57
2
59
241
3
244
Psy.D.
10
0
10
55
0
55
TOTALS
67
2
69
296
3
299
Combined
Ph.D.
11
0
11
71
0
71
Psy.D.
7
1
8
73
2
75
TOTALS
18
1
19
144
2
146
ALL PROGRAMS
Ph.D.
335
3
338
2,161
6
2,167
Psy.D.
99
4
103
1,945
27
1,972
TOTALS
434
7
441
4,106
33
4,139


APPLICANT RESULTS BY DOCTORAL PROGRAM TYPE AND DEGREE
PROGRAM TYPE
DEGREE SOUGHT
MATCHED
UNMATCHED
WITHDREW OR NO RANKINGS SUBMITTED
TOTAL
Clinical
Ph.D.
1,279
87.7%
152
10.4%
27
1.9%
1,458
Psy.D.
1,316
76.2%
319
18.5%
93
5.4%
1,728
TOTALS
2,595
81.5%
471
14.8%
120
3.8%
3,186
Counseling
Ph.D.
356
90.4%
25
6.3%
13
3.3%
394
Psy.D.
76
66.7%
20
17.5%
18
15.8%
114
TOTALS
432
85.0%
45
8.9%
31
6.1%
508
School
Ph.D.
194
79.5%
31
12.7%
19
7.8%
244
Psy.D.
29
52.7%
15
27.3%
11
20.0%
55
TOTALS
223
74.6%
46
15.4%
30
10.0%
299
Combined
Ph.D.
58
81.7%
10
14.1%
3
4.2%
71
Psy.D.
57
76.0%
12
16.0%
6
8.0%
75
TOTALS
115
78.8%
22
15.1%
9
6.2%
146
ALL PROGRAMS
Ph.D.
1,887
87.1%
218
10.1%
62
2.9%
2,167
Psy.D.
1,478
74.9%
366
18.6%
128
6.5%
1,972
TOTALS
3,365
81.3%
584
14.1%
190
4.6%
4,139


MATCHED APPLICANTS BY ACCREDITATION STATUS OF INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
AND DOCTORAL PROGRAM TYPE AND DEGREE
PROGRAM TYPE
DEGREE SOUGHT
MATCHED TO ACCREDITED INTERNSHIP
MATCHED TO NON-ACCREDITED INTERNSHIP
TOTAL
Clinical
Ph.D.
1,263
98.7%
16
1.3%
1,279
Psy.D.
1,241
94.3%
75
5.7%
1,316
TOTALS
2,504
96.5%
91
3.5%
2,595
Counseling
Ph.D.
350
98.3%
6
1.7%
356
Psy.D.
70
92.1%
6
7.9%
76
TOTALS
420
97.2%
12
2.8%
432
School
Ph.D.
174
89.7%
20
10.3%
194
Psy.D.
24
82.8%
5
17.2%
29
TOTALS
198
88.8%
25
11.2%
223
Combined
Ph.D.
55
94.8%
3
5.2%
58
Psy.D.
50
87.7%
7
12.3%
57
TOTALS
105
91.3%
10
8.7%
115
ALL PROGRAMS
Ph.D.
1,842
97.6%
45
2.4%
1,887
Psy.D.
1,385
93.7%
93
6.3%
1,478
TOTALS
3,227
95.9%
138
4.1%
3,365



SUMMARY OF PROGRAM RANKINGS


The following report contains additional statistics on how successful programs were, on average, in matching with applicants during Phase I of the APPIC Match.

There are several important issues that must be considered in attempting to analyze program success based on the rank numbers of matched applicants.

DEFINITIONAL PROBLEMS: Because each applicant submitted a single Rank Order List in order to match to a single position, it is easy to identify his or her "first choice," "second choice," etc. However, for an internship program, determining first or second choice applicants is a far more difficult and complex task. First, many programs attempt to fill several positions; if a program has three positions to fill, an applicant ranked third by that program can in effect be considered a "first choice" for purposes of the Match. Furthermore, a significant number of sites submitted multiple Rank Order Lists for a single program, sometimes ranking the same applicant on different Lists with different rank numbers. Also, the reversion of unfilled positions between lists adds a further complication to this analysis.

We worked closely with National Matching Services in an attempt to resolve these difficulties and to develop a reasonable method of presenting this data.

STANDARDIZED RANKINGS: For the purposes of this analysis, we converted each site's rankings to a "standardized rank." This is best explained by example: if the number of positions to be filled from a Rank Order List was three, then the first three applicants on this List were considered to be "first choice" applicants and given a standardized rank of 1. The next three applicants on that List were defined as "second choice" applicants and given a standardized rank of 2. And so on.


PHASE I MATCH RESULTS BY
STANDARDIZED RANK NUMBER ON INTERNSHIP PROGRAM LIST

(Percentages may not total to 100 due to rounding errors)

Standardized Rank
Number of Applicants Matched
1
1,042
31%
2
784
23%
3
561
17%
4
388
12%
5
260
8%
6
128
4%
7
88
3%
8
43
1%
9
20
1%
10 or higher
51
2%
TOTAL
3,365
100%

To interpret this chart: Of all positions that were filled in Phase I of the Match, 31% were filled with "first choice" applicants (as defined above), 23% with "second choice" applicants, and so on.

Furthermore, 54% were filled with "first" or "second" choice applicants, while 71% were filled with "third choice" applicants or better.

Of course, comparing these numbers to applicants' Match statistics should be done with extreme caution, given the significantly different ways in how "first choice", "second choice", etc. were defined in each analysis.

 

Report Prepared by Greg Keilin, Ph.D.
and National Matching Services, Inc.
February 19, 2021