Techniques for candidate evaluation and filtering are provided. Enrollment criteria for a clinical trial are received, where the enrollment criteria include a plurality of conditions. A plurality of cost vectors is constructed for the plurality of conditions. A set of values for one or more of the plurality of conditions is determined for a candidate, where the set of values does not include a value for at least a first condition of the plurality of conditions. A utilized cost is generated for the candidate, based on the first set of values and the plurality of cost vectors. The candidate is then ranked based on the utilized cost.