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Preparing for Match Day

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Successfully navigate your Match journey
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Understand residency match slang with this glossary
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FREIDA™, the AMA Residency & Fellowship Database®
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AMA medical student membership, discounts & benefits
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5 Min Read

Biggest Match Day ever: Here’s what the 2025 numbers reveal

How many medical students matched? Take a deep dive on the NRMP data about this year’s specialty trends, match rates and more.

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency

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5 Min Read

If you’re feeling disappointed on Match Day, you are not alone

If you don’t land your No. 1 choice on Match Day, you have company. Here’s what former medical students say about that Match Day disappointment.  

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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6 Min Read

Worried about matching? The odds are likely in your favor

For those anxious about the physician residency Match, take solace in the data. Most applicants match, and SOAP can be an effective fallback option.

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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3 Min Read

Match: Which specialties place most residents through SOAP

More than 700 programs took part in the Supplement Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) last year. Take a deeper dive into the numbers. 

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency

FREIDA™ Specialty Guide

The AMA’s specialty guide offers the details medical students need to know to simplify the specialty selection process.

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4 Min Read

How the physician residency Match algorithm favors applicants

As Match Day approaches, find out how the algorithm works, why your preferences come first and what to expect.

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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5 Min Read

What to know about SOAP's last-minute Match options

The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program can be a vehicle through which unmatched medical students find a home for residency. Here’s how. 

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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6 Min Read

What if you don’t match? 4 things you should do

A physician who has worked with unmatched applicants explains how to make the most of the coming year and improve the odds of matching in the next cycle.

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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6 Min Read

A resident’s guide to a successful Couples Match rank-order list

AMA member Chance Fisher, DO, successfully navigated the Couples Match with his physician wife last year. His advice: Make it clear where you won’t go.

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Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency
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5 Min Read

Use these strategies to create your residency Match rank-order list

As the Match rank-order list deadline nears, go with your personal preferences and carefully weigh every residency program you interviewed with.

series
Preparing for Residency
The Road to Residency