Match Day Overseas: Time-Zone Specific Schedules for IM and FMGs

The calendar is lying to you. Match Day does not happen on Friday at noon—unless you are sitting in the Eastern Time Zone. If you are overseas, Match Week is a 5‑day jet‑lagged puzzle, and most IMGs mess it up the first time.

I am not letting you be that person.

This is the timeline, day‑by‑day and hour‑by‑hour, for international and foreign medical graduates outside the US. Internal medicine, family medicine, surgery—it does not matter. The clock is the same. What changes is how you line your local time up with their schedule so you do not miss life‑defining emails while you are asleep or in clinic.

We will walk through:

• The exact US (Eastern) times NRMP uses
• How those convert for common overseas regions
• What you should be doing at each point if you are in Europe, the Middle East, India, East Asia, or Oceania
• Checklists for each critical window: SOAP, email watching, Match Day itself

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1. First, lock in the real Match Week schedule (US Eastern)

At this point you should stop thinking “Friday Match Day” and start thinking “Eastern Time Match Week grid.”

The NRMP timing (for the Main Residency Match) is remarkably consistent. Always verify your year on NRMP’s website, but the skeleton looks like this (all in US Eastern Time):

Event	Typical Day & Time (ET)
Match Status Email ("You are matched / unmatched")	Monday 10:00 AM
SOAP Begins (applications open)	Monday 10:00 AM
First SOAP Offer Round	Wednesday 9:00 AM
Second SOAP Offer Round	Wednesday 12:00 PM
Third SOAP Offer Round	Wednesday 3:00 PM
Fourth SOAP Offer Round	Wednesday 5:00 PM
SOAP Ends	Thursday 5:00 PM
Match Results (programs & locations) Released	Friday 12:00 PM

Your job now is simple: translate this grid into your local time and build your week around it.

To give you a sense of how brutal—or manageable—this can be:

Key Match Week Events in Three Overseas Time Zones

Category	Value
London (GMT/UTC+0)	15
Delhi (IST, UTC+5:30)	20
Tokyo (JST, UTC+9)	22

(Those “values” are hours ahead of Eastern, roughly—enough to push many key emails into your evening or middle of the night.)

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2. Four weeks before Match Week: set your time‑zone foundation

At this point you should be fixing your tools, not your anxiety.

Week –4: Lock the clocks and accounts

1. Confirm the exact dates and times for your year

   • Go to NRMP → Main Residency Match → Match Week & SOAP Schedule.
   • Screenshot or print the page. Do not rely on memory.
   • Check if the US is on Standard Time or Daylight Time that week. That changes your offset.

2. Convert to your local time properly

   • Use a reliable converter (timeanddate.com “Event Time Announcer” is good).
   • Convert each of these:
     • Monday 10:00 AM ET (Match status + SOAP start)
     • Wednesday SOAP offer rounds (9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 5 PM ET)
     • Friday 12:00 PM ET (Match results)
   • Write them down as local date + time. Some will be next day for you.

3. Set redundant alarms

   • Put every converted time into:
     • Your phone calendar
     • A backup calendar (Google, Outlook, something that syncs across devices)
   • Turn on:
     • Email notifications on your phone
     • Push alerts for NRMP/ERAS if you use their apps or browser notifications

4. Stabilize your email situation

   • Use 1–2 serious email addresses across ERAS/NRMP, not five.
   • Add program domains and NRMP domains to your safe‑senders list.
   • Do a test: send yourself an email from another account and confirm instant notification on laptop + phone.

If you’re in a time zone that pushes key events into the middle of your night (say, Tokyo or Sydney), decide now:
Will you shift your sleep schedule for that week, or will you accept that you’ll wake up at 2–3 AM for critical windows?
Do not improvise this during Match Week. Your brain will be mush by then.

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3. One week before Match Week: simulate the week

At this point you should rehearse Match Week as if it’s already happening.

Week –1: Dry run your schedule

Day –7 (previous Monday)

• Open a blank page and create a Match Week grid with rows like:
  • “My local time”
  • “US Eastern time”
  • “Event”
  • “What I’ll be doing”
• Fill in:
  • Monday: “Am I matched?” time
  • Wednesday SOAP rounds
  • Friday Match Day

Day –6 to –4 (Tue–Thu)

• Adjust sleep and meal times to approximate your planned Match Week schedule.
• Example for someone in India (IST, UTC+5:30):
  • Monday 10:00 AM ET → Monday 7:30 PM IST
  • Friday 12:00 PM ET → Friday 9:30 PM IST
    You’ll likely:
  • Work/study normally
  • Have a quiet evening Monday and Friday with stable internet and no family events.

Day –3 (Friday before Match Week)
Checklist:

• Confirm:
  • NRMP login works
  • ERAS login works
• Download:
  • A fresh copy of your ERAS application
  • Your CV
  • Your personal statement(s)
  • Any specialty‑specific versions you might need for SOAP
• Store them:
  • On your laptop
  • On a USB or external drive
  • In a cloud folder (Google Drive, Dropbox)

You’re trying to remove any reason to panic‑search for documents at 3 AM your time.

Pre-Match Week Preparation Timeline

Period	Event
Four Weeks Before - Confirm NRMP schedule	Done
Four Weeks Before - Convert to local times	Done
Two Weeks Before - Set alarms	Active
Two Weeks Before - Test email and logins	Active
One Week Before - Dry run sleep schedule	Planned
One Week Before - Organize SOAP documents	Planned

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4. Break down Match Week by time zone cluster

I’ll walk you through three broad clusters. If you’re a little off (e.g., Berlin versus London), you can adjust by an hour. The structure stays the same.

Cluster A: Europe / UK (UTC to UTC+2)

Examples: UK (GMT), Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe.

Time offset around Match Week (when US is on EDT):

• London: EDT +5 hours
• Central Europe: EDT +6 hours
• Eastern Europe: EDT +7 hours

Monday – “Are you matched?” email

• US: 10:00 AM ET
• London: 3:00 PM
• Berlin/Rome/Paris: 4:00 PM

At this point you should:

• Clear your afternoon from 2:30 PM onward.
• Be logged into:
  • Email
  • NRMP R3 system
• Have:
  • Stable Wi‑Fi
  • Phone charger plugged in

If you are matched:

• You’re done with SOAP.
• The rest of the week is emotional management and waiting for Friday.

If you are unmatched / partially matched:

• SOAP starts immediately at your 3–4 PM local time.
• You now have Monday evening + all of Tuesday (your time) to:
  • Review the list of unfilled programs
  • Target programs where your profile actually fits
  • Edit and send applications through ERAS

Do not waste Monday night “processing emotions.” You can cry on Thursday. Monday night is SOAP strategy.

Wednesday – SOAP offer day

SOAP offers hit at:

• 9:00 AM ET → 2:00–4:00 PM in Europe
• 12:00 PM ET → 5:00–7:00 PM
• 3:00 PM ET → 8:00–10:00 PM
• 5:00 PM ET → 10:00 PM–12:00 AM (later for Eastern Europe)

At this point you should:

• Block off all of Wednesday afternoon and evening.
• Sit with:
  • NRMP portal open
  • Email open
• When offers drop:
  • You have 2 hours to respond each round.
  • Use the first 10–15 minutes to:
    • Check if you have multiple offers
    • Decide based on:
      • Program type
      • Visa support (for FMGs)
      • Long‑term fit
  • Accept one if it’s acceptable. Do not gamble on an unrealistic “better later” if your profile is average.

Friday – Match Results (for those who matched)

• 12:00 PM ET → 5:00 PM in UK, 6:00 PM in many EU countries.

At this point you should:

• Have a quiet early evening, no clinical duties starting at 4:30 PM.
• Be on a stable connection with:
  • Family reachable but not physically crowding your screen (if that stresses you).
• Open the NRMP R3 system exactly at your local converted time and refresh once.

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Cluster B: Middle East / East Africa / South Asia (UTC+3 to UTC+5:30)

Examples: Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kenya, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka.

Typical offsets (when US is on EDT):

• Dubai (UTC+4): ET +8 hours
• Riyadh (UTC+3): ET +7 hours
• Nairobi (UTC+3): ET +7 hours
• Delhi (UTC+5:30): ET +9.5 hours

Monday – Match status

• 10:00 AM ET → 5:00 PM Riyadh, 6:00 PM Dubai, 7:30 PM Delhi.

At this point you should:

• Protect 5:00 PM–10:00 PM from major responsibilities.
• Expect:
  • Email and NRMP status around your early evening.
• If unmatched:
  • You begin SOAP in your evening, and you can realistically:
    • Work hard Monday night
    • Then take a breath Tuesday morning
    • Return to refining applications Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday – SOAP application refinement

Your Tuesday is prime time.

• US programs are reviewing SOAP applications during their workday.
• For you, that’s:
  • Late afternoon to late night.

At this point you should:

• Keep your phone on loud.
• Check email every hour.
• Be ready for:
  • Any emails from programs requesting quick information or confirmations.

Wednesday – SOAP offers

Let’s anchor on Delhi to illustrate:

• 9:00 AM ET → 6:30 PM IST
• 12:00 PM ET → 9:30 PM IST
• 3:00 PM ET → 12:30 AM IST (Thursday)
• 5:00 PM ET → 2:30 AM IST (Thursday)

If you’re in this region:

• First and second SOAP rounds are comfortably in your evening.
• Third and fourth rounds drift into late night / very early morning.

At this point you should:

• Decide whether you’ll stay up through 2:30 AM or nap in between.
• Have someone (if possible) who can call you if you oversleep and an offer appears.
• Prepare:
  • A printed list ranking your preferred SOAP programs so you can accept quickly when tired.

Friday – Match results

• 12:00 PM ET → 7:00 PM Riyadh, 8:00 PM Dubai, 9:30 PM Delhi.

At this point you should:

• Assume Friday evening is all about the Match.
• If you’re working clinically:
  • Try to switch any late‑evening duties.
• Have:
  • A backup internet plan if power/internet outages are a risk.

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Cluster C: East Asia / Oceania (UTC+7 to UTC+12)

Examples: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand.

This group has it rough. Many Match events hit past midnight.

Rough offsets (EDT):

• Bangkok (UTC+7): ET +11 hours
• Singapore/Kuala Lumpur (UTC+8): ET +12 hours
• Tokyo/Seoul (UTC+9): ET +13 hours
• Sydney (UTC+10): ET +14 hours

Monday – Match status

Tokyo example:

• 10:00 AM ET Monday → 11:00 PM Monday in Tokyo.

Sydney example:

• 10:00 AM ET Monday → 1:00 AM Tuesday in Sydney.

At this point you should:

• Commit: either stay awake to see your status live, or plan to wake for it.
• Do not schedule:
  • Early‑morning clinic Tuesday if you know you’ll be up at 1:00 AM checking Match status.

If you’re unmatched in this region:

• Monday night (“overnight”) becomes your SOAP start.
• Your Tuesday daytime overlaps US Monday night, where less will happen.
• Practical move:
  • Use your Tuesday daytime to build superb SOAP applications, then:
  • Be ready Tuesday night when US Tuesday opens in earnest.

Wednesday – SOAP offers

Tokyo again:

• 9:00 AM ET → 10:00 PM Tokyo (Wednesday night)
• 12:00 PM ET → 1:00 AM Thursday
• 3:00 PM ET → 4:00 AM Thursday
• 5:00 PM ET → 6:00 AM Thursday

Sydney:

• Add 1 more hour to each. Even later/earlier.

At this point you should:

• Plan strategic sleep:
  • Nap Wednesday afternoon/evening.
  • Be fully awake 10:00 PM–2:00 AM.
  • Decide whether to push on to 4–6 AM depending on how desperate your situation is and how strong your app is.
• Put:
  • Multiple alarms around each SOAP round (10 minutes before, on time, and 15 minutes after) in case you drift off.

Friday – Match results

Tokyo:

• 12:00 PM ET Friday → 1:00 AM Saturday.

Sydney:

• 12:00 PM ET Friday → 2:00 AM Saturday.

At this point you should:

• Decide in advance:
  • Are you a “refresh at 1:00 AM and then celebrate or cry quietly” person?
  • Or will you wake at 5–6 AM local time and accept that your result was sitting there a few hours while you slept?
• If family wants to be present:
  • Consider doing the “big reveal” at a reasonable local hour, even if you quietly check the result alone overnight.

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5. Special concerns for IMGs and FMGs

Being international adds extra layers—visa status, distance, communication lag.

Visa and documentation timing

At this point you should assume everything takes longer when you’re overseas.

• Once you’re matched (Friday):
  • Program onboarding emails often start the same day or early next week US time.
  • For you, that can be weekend or middle of the night.

Prepare now:

• Have:
  • Digital copies of passport, medical school diploma, transcripts, ECFMG certificate.
• Know:
  • Your nearest US embassy/consulate and standard wait time for visa interviews.
• Block:
  • A couple of half days in the 2–3 weeks after Match when you can step away for paperwork/admin as emails start rolling.

Communication windows

Your overlap with US business hours might be tiny.

• US business hours: roughly 9:00 AM–5:00 PM ET.
• If you’re in East Asia:
  • That’s evening to late night your time.

At this point you should:

• Decide your “US window”:
  • E.g., “I will always be reachable 8:00 PM–12:00 AM my time.”
• Tell family/roommates:
  • During Match Week, that window is sacred. No loud gatherings, no internet‑hogging streaming.

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6. Quick reference: Time-zone comparison table

Print something like this and stick it next to your desk.

Event (ET)	New York (ET)	London	Berlin	Dubai	Delhi	Tokyo	Sydney
Mon 10:00 AM (Status)	10:00 AM Mon	3:00 PM Mon	4:00 PM Mon	6:00 PM Mon	7:30 PM Mon	11:00 PM Mon	1:00 AM Tue
Wed 9:00 AM (SOAP 1)	9:00 AM Wed	2:00 PM Wed	3:00 PM Wed	5:00 PM Wed	6:30 PM Wed	10:00 PM Wed	12:00 AM Thu
Wed 12:00 PM (SOAP 2)	12:00 PM Wed	5:00 PM Wed	6:00 PM Wed	8:00 PM Wed	9:30 PM Wed	1:00 AM Thu	3:00 AM Thu
Wed 3:00 PM (SOAP 3)	3:00 PM Wed	8:00 PM Wed	9:00 PM Wed	11:00 PM Wed	12:30 AM Thu	4:00 AM Thu	6:00 AM Thu
Wed 5:00 PM (SOAP 4)	5:00 PM Wed	10:00 PM Wed	11:00 PM Wed	1:00 AM Thu	2:30 AM Thu	6:00 AM Thu	8:00 AM Thu
Fri 12:00 PM (Results)	12:00 PM Fri	5:00 PM Fri	6:00 PM Fri	8:00 PM Fri	9:30 PM Fri	1:00 AM Sat	2:00 AM Sat

(Always re‑check for your year; US daylight savings and your local rules can shift the exact numbers.)

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7. Day‑by‑day checklist for an IMG overseas

Let’s condense this into a generic Match Week rhythm you can adapt.

Monday (Status Day)

At this point you should:

• Be online 30–45 minutes before your local converted time.
• Have:
  • NRMP R3 open
  • Email open
• When status drops:
  • If “Matched”:
    • Take a breath, call whoever you want, then write down:
      • “I do not know where yet. Results are Friday my local [time].”
  • If “Unmatched” or “Partially Matched”:
    • Immediately:
      • Open unfilled list
      • Filter to your specialty / visa‑friendly programs
      • Start building your SOAP target list

Tuesday (Application Refinement)

At this point you should:

• Polish and send SOAP applications (if relevant) in your daytime, while US programs are awake.
• Keep:
  • Phone and email visible at all times.
• Sleep:
  • Intentionally, knowing Wednesday may run late.

Wednesday (SOAP Offer Day)

At this point you should:

• Anchor yourself at a desk for the entire period covering SOAP rounds in your local time.
• Prepare:
  • Prioritized program list.
  • Simple one‑line notes about each program (city, type, why you’d accept).
• When offers appear:
  • Decide quickly but not impulsively.
  • Accept something if it meets your floor criteria (visa, specialty, program type).

Thursday (SOAP wrap‑up)

At this point you should:

• Process:
  • If you matched via SOAP, stabilize emotions and wait for program contact.
  • If you did not, start planning:
    • Reapplication
    • Research positions
    • Other clinical/research work.

Friday (Match Results / Program Names)

At this point you should:

• Be in a stable, private environment at your local results time.
• Log into:
  • NRMP R3 on time, minimal refreshing.
• Once you see the result:
  • Screenshot it.
  • Save the PDF if available.
• Then celebrate or decompress the way that suits you, not Instagram.

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8. Your next move today

You do not need to “prepare for Match Day” in the abstract. You need to prepare your clock.

Today, before you open another Reddit thread, do this:

Open your calendar right now and create events for: “Match Status,” “SOAP Round 1–4,” and “Match Results” at your exact local times. Turn on alerts for 30 minutes before, 10 minutes before, and at time.

Once those are in place, you’re no longer at the mercy of someone else’s time zone. You’ve pulled Match Week onto your own clock.