Cutting Through the Noise: Radiation Oncology Applicant and Program Director Response to Signaling During Match 2025

Purpose: Geographic and program signals allow applicants to denote preferred regions and institutions for residency training. For the 2025 Match, program signals were introduced for radiation oncology (RO). We describe the experiences of RO applicants and program directors (PDs) with these novel program signals and geographic signals. Methods and Materials: Anonymous REDCap surveys were distributed to RO applicants and PDs after Match Day 2025. Consented participants answered questions on their perspectives and behaviors surrounding signals. Results: = .26) to a program within a division of a geographic signal did not differ by applicant type. Conclusions: Program signals were universally used by surveyed RO applicants for the Match 2025, with most employing all tokens. Surveyed RO PDs reported signals influenced stages of residency recruitment, including interview invitations and ranking. Our data show that program and geographic signals may influence interview invites, but their impact on final match outcomes remains unclear. There was notably poor alignment of applicant and RO PD behaviors with the best practices regarding program signals as described by governing bodies, which should be addressed in future match cycles.