School of Medicine Match Day 2019: By The Numbers

Two individuals hug in joy while another looks on during Match Day festivities
Medical school students and graduates learn the U.S. residency program where they will train for the next three to seven years on Match Day, celebrated by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) on the third Friday of March.

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(March 17, 2019) — Sunshine poured through the windows of the Healey Family Student Center on an unseasonably warm March day as members of the School of Medicine Class of 2019 waited alongside friends and family members to learn where their nascent medical careers would take them.

“I’m not going to try to tell you that you’re all going to your top choice,” said Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, MBA, dean for medical education at the School of Medicine. “I will tell you that 90 percent of you are going to one of your top three choices. I will also tell you that 42 percent of you are going to top quarter programs in U.S. News & World Report, and 14 percent of you are going to top 10 programs in the nation.”

Watch video highlights of Match Day 2019.

After applying for the Main Residency Match, medical school students and graduates learn the U.S. residency program where they will train for the next three to seven years on Match Day, celebrated by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) on the third Friday of March. The largest match in history, a record 38,376 applicants applied for 35,185 positions, the most positions ever offered in the match.

The specialties with the highest numbers of students who matched were medicine with 35 students, then a three-way tie between anesthesiology, emergency medicine and orthopaedic surgery with 15 students each. Twenty-six students matched with residency programs in New York state, followed by 22 students in California and 20 students in Washington, D.C.   

Notably, one of the fourth-year medical students participated in the celebration from afar, watching a livestream of the Match Day broadcast. “I will also tell you that one person Zooming in right now, Zach Albaugh,” Mitchell said. “Capt. Albaugh is in the Air Force. He’s in Kuwait, he can’t tell us exactly where he is but his commanding officer is overseeing his opening that envelope right now and he’s watching you closely.” Albaugh matched with the University of Central Florida College of Medicine/Hospital Corporation of America Graduate Medical Education Consortium in Ocala, Fla., for a residency in emergency medicine.

Recognizing that Match Day can be a challenging time for students who were not matched with a residency, Mitchell thanked colleagues for helping unmatched students determine how to proceed. “This is a week, as you know, it’s a happy, joyous time,” he said. “It’s also a tough time for some classmates. But let me tell you, all of those classmates who are with us this week, most have a job, all have a plan and they all have the Georgetown family at their back.”

Applicants participating in the Main Residency Match according to the National Resident Matching Program: 38,376

Available positions in the match: 35,185

Available first-year positions: 32,194 (1,962 more positions than in 2018, a 6.5% increase)

Percentage of School of Medicine students who matched with one of the top 10 programs in their specialty: 14%

Percentage of students who matched with one of the top quarter programs in their specialty: 42%

Most popular specialties among School of Medicine students who matched:

  • Internal medicine: 35
  • Anesthesiology: 15
  • Orthopaedic surgery: 15
  • Emergency medicine: 15
  • Pediatrics: 14
  • General surgery: 12
  • Neurology: 9
  • Family medicine: 8

Most popular destinations for School of Medicine students who matched:

  • New York State (26 students)
  • California (22)
  • District of Columbia (20)
  • Pennsylvania (16)
  • Maryland (9)

Number of states where School of Medicine students matched: 31 and the District of Columbia

Number of lives School of Medicine students will impact throughout their careers: Countless!

Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications

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