2021 Virtual Match Day celebrations

A total of 147 fourth-year medical students from the Texas A&M University College of Medicine learned where they will be spending the next phase of their medical training, known as residency, on March 19.

This annual event, called Match Day, is when tens of thousands of medical students across the nation open up envelopes that tell them what specialty they will practice and where they will be conducting their residency for the transition from medical school to a practicing physician.

During their final year of medical school, students apply to residency programs of their interest, attend interviews and rank their preferred specialty and residency location. This process takes months leading up to Match Day.

Matching with a residency is highly competitive, as the national percentage of medical students matching is 92.8. This year, Texas A&M matched at 95.1 percent, matching 2.3 percent above the national average. This marks two years in a row that the College of Medicine is above the national match rate.

Beyond the 78 students who matched in Texas, other popular states they matched in included Illinois (7), Louisiana (6), Arizona (6), California (6), Maryland (4), North Carolina (4) and New York (4). The Class of 2021 students matched into residencies in 29 different states, including Texas.

Fourth-year medical student Jonaphine Mata discovered she had matched in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University, a dream she had been hoping would come true for a long time.

“To utter the words “Hopkins,” or even have a chance at an interview, was beyond my dreams’ capacity,” Mata said. “As someone who was born in a small town in the Philippines, I never thought my life’s journey would bring me all the way there. When I found out I matched at the Osler Residency, I was absolutely ecstatic. I knew that Hopkins was the best place for me to become the best physician I can possibly be, reaching a standard I expect to provide to my patients.”

Match Day was a joyous occasion for Mata, despite the anxiety and anticipation leading up to it.

“As for everyone, medical school is a tough journey, consisting of many valleys and peaks,” Mata said. “However, the special moments occur when one’s dedication to their studies leads to tangible, positive outcomes; these moments make the struggle worthwhile. In addition, my clinical instructors at Texas A&M have modeled what a caring physician means to me, seeing them treat their patients as human beings with souls, and not as a collection of body parts to be repaired. I hope to continue to emulate my professors and make them proud.”

This year, internal medicine was the most popular specialty that the students matched in, with 31 residents matching, followed by pediatrics (17) and family medicine (15). Other specialties the students matched in include emergency medicine, obstetrics & gynecology and general surgery.