Thanks for starting this iCode!
From the the 2015 and 2014 threads it seems the timeline for company matches is rather sporadic from December- March. However, the "Employee Member Status" began to change starting as early as the second week of December through March.
Status Change Definitions
Matched - GEM thinks you're a good candidate and matched you with a company(companies)
Held - A company is reviewing your credentials and is considering an interview extension
Release - if you went from Held to Release then the company was looking at you, but decided to pick another scholar. (This can happen after an interview also).
Accepted - You got a company sponsor! Congrats!
During these status changes past applicants and Fellows experienced emails and phone calls from company sponsors for interviews and eventually offers/rejections. Overall, it seems like a huge waiting game where many applicants experienced status changes every other week.
As far as verifying University partners, I believe you have to self declare whether you got accepted or rejected. In doing so, you will get contacted by the University's GEM representative to further this step.
- This was my interpretation from the 2014 and 2015 threads so if anything seems wrong, please correct me! Otherwise, we'll all keep each other posted!