Match Day

This morning Jared, Ethan and I went to Match Day for Jared's med school class. Match day is where medical students learn where they will do residency, the next phase of their medical training. Match Day occurs simultaneously at medical schools nationwide. It started at 9:00 here at UCI and 12:00 back east, literally at the same time. At UCI, students march up to a podium one at a time in front of family and friends and open an envelope containing a notification of acceptance to a particular residency program. Everyone who is graduating this summer (except the few students who stayed behind to do the MBA) all found out.

It was so exciting to watch but I felt a little nervous for them. You could tell the students were nervous to find out where the computer matched them. It can be a big gamble depending on how you ranked the schools and how they ranked you. It is a scary thing to find out, in front of a few hundred people, where you will spend the next several years as you open that envelope. It seemed like most students were happy where they matched and everyone in the class matched this year. Some years a few students don't match to a residency program, which means they have to "scramble" a few days before match day to find a residency that will take them, and it is not always in the field they wanted.

It was kind of sad to know that could have been us up there, but this extra year will be good for us. It was neat to see what next year will be like at Match day. I think I will be a little emotional because it's a big day - hopefully all Jared's hard work will pay off and we will get into the residency of our choice.