The wait is over: graduating medical students find out what’s next at Match Day

Moments ago, 176 University of Michigan medical students learned where they’re headed for the next phases of their educational journeys. They participated in Match Day, an annual event where students open personalized envelopes from the National Residency Match Program containing the destinations of where they’ll complete their residency training.

Many of their family and friends joined the students at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex for this memorable day.

“We share in our upcoming graduates’ excitement as they experience the Match Day rite of passage,” said Debra Weinstein, M.D., executive vice dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan Medical School and chief academic officer for Michigan Medicine. “I hope that everyone takes some time to enjoy a deep sense of accomplishment. We are enormously proud of this truly talented class of 2024.”

93.8% of U-M Medical School students matched, with an ultimate placement rate of 99.4%. Of this group, 33% of the students will stay in Michigan for their next level of training. This includes 21% who will continue their education at Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center. The rest will begin training in states as far away as California.

Here are some highlights from this year’s graduating class:

• 34% of ‘matching’ students are entering fields that lead to primary care. 
• 37 students will graduate with both a medical degree from U-M and an advanced degree in another field from U-M or another top-ranked graduate program. These degrees include Ph.D.’s as part of U-M’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), or master’s degrees in public health, clinical research or business.
• Three students have also completed both a medical degree and a residency program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
• The top four Match Day specialties include internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and family medicine, while emergency medicine and anesthesiology tie for number five. 
• This year’s medical students were selected for residency programs from thousands of applicants nationwide.

“This year’s class is incredibly impressive, and I am so honored to celebrate their achievements on this Match Day,” said Marschall Runge, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the U-M Medical School. “Without a doubt, this remarkable group of aspiring physicians will make us proud as they undoubtedly excel in their new places of training.”

For more about Match Day, please visit https://nrmp.org.

And for more about Match Day at the U-M Medical School, please visit: https://michmed.org/gobluematch.