Match Week 2025 Is Over: What’s Next for Medical Students?

The Match Week (March 17 – 21, 2025) for the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) 2025 Main Residency Match is that big moment when thousands of med students across the U.S. discover where they'll start their residency. This is a huge step not just for them but for the future of medicine overall and brings such a rollercoaster of feelings. So, what did this year’s Match Week look like? 

2025's Main Residency Match broke records with more residency spots and applicants to date. According to the NRMP, this year’s Match included 43,237 positions, an increase of 4.2% from 2024 and a total of 52,498 applicants participated, marking a 4.1% rise in applicants compared to last year. This year also marked the addition of two new specialties—Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The 2025 Match included 6,626 certified program tracks, going up by 231 from the previous year. Let’s look at some notable trends! Nearly 80% of those who applied for first-year residency slots found a match. U.S. medical school graduates had the highest success rates with 93.5% MD seniors and 92.6% DO seniors securing residency positions. Interestingly, international medical graduates had mixed results—U.S. citizens saw a slight improvement, while non-U.S. citizens saw a small drop in their match rate. Primary care fields continued to grow, with internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine offering more positions than ever. Emergency medicine, which had struggled with unfilled spots in past years, saw an improvement this year, with a fill rate of nearly 98%. Meanwhile, the obstetrics and gynecology specialty remained a highly sought-after specialty, with only 10 open slots left to be filled after Match Day. 

With the stakes being so high for thousands of medical students, every year Match Week is filled with a mix of excitement, nerves, relief, and even letdowns for some. Now that those emails have gone out and the confetti has finally settled, the question is—what comes next? Whether you're celebrating getting matched with your dream program or you did not match and are trying to figure out what to do next, we’re sharing some tips to help medical students plan their next steps. 

For those who matched, celebrate and prepare! 

1. Take a moment to celebrate: Congratulations—you did it! This is a huge achievement, all your hard work paid off and you absolutely deserve to celebrate this milestone. Take time to appreciate how far you’ve come; this is your moment! 

2. Check and complete pre-training requirements: Do check for any communications from your residency program regarding the onboarding process. This may involve filing necessary applications and paperwork, completing any pre-training steps like background checks, and complying with visa requirements. Getting a head start on these tasks will go a long way in ensuring a smoother start to your residency. 

3. Figure out your relocation logistics: If you’re joining a residency program located in a different city, look into housing options early on and start organizing everything you may need for relocation. Get familiar with the commute times and options in the new city, and the cost of living in the area, which can help you plan your finances effectively. Some programs may offer housing assistance, stipends, or other resources for finding suitable accommodation for incoming residents, so do check and make the most of it. For a deep dive into exploring financial planning, check out the advice and insights offered by the American Medical Association (AMA). 

4. Enhance your skillset: Identify and work on the essential skills you'll need to develop for the road ahead. It's a good idea to chat with a faculty member or your advisor who can help you identify what you're good at and what you might want to work on. Also, see if your institution offers preparatory courses or transition-to-residency programs and get involved in that. Since residents often have to teach, it could really help to get some experience as a teaching assistant or enroll in a course to hone your teaching skills. 

Sukhman Shergill on X: "To all unmatched applicants - this setback doesn’t define you, it refines you. But remember, doing the same thing won’t get you a different result. Something must change. Reflect, adapt, and come back stronger! #Match2025 #IMG" / X

If you didn’t match, don’t give up! 

1. Take a break, decompress: It might be a good idea to take a well-deserved break—guilt-free! Remember, Match Week is intense and getting this far is an incredible achievement in itself. Not getting your preferred match doesn't define your worth, and all the hard work you've put in won't go unnoticed. It’s totally normal to feel disappointed, frustrated, or even a little lost right now. You're definitely not alone in this. Talk to your friends and family for support, and when you're ready, you can dive back in and figure out your next steps. 

2. Seek support from your advisors and explore options: If you find yourself not matched after the Match Day or SOAP rounds, don't hesitate to reach out to your advisors or mentors, especially those in the field you're interested in. They can offer you some good advice and support. Even though it's disappointing, you can still check out NRMP's List of Unfilled Programs. This list helps you see programs that have open spots and will be available until May 1, so you can consider reaching out to programs with open positions if you're eligible for them. Plus, the AAMC's FindAResident tool can be helpful for finding open residency or fellowship positions, and this tool can be used all year round. AMA's FREIDA is another great resource for browsing programs for the next cycle. 

3. Review your application: Now's a good time to think about your application and what you want for your career. Ask yourself, do you want to stick with your original choice of specialty? Or do you want to explore other specialties? Talking to your mentors and people who've been through this can really help you get more clarity. They can help you identify your strengths and where you might need some work, this can include test scores, personal statements, or how you perform in interviews. While you can't change past test scores, you can improve other aspects of your application with the help of your advisors and mentors and boost your chances for the next round. Also, consider talking to friends and family; they can offer some helpful insights and perspectives as you figure things out. 

4. Strengthen your profile: If you’re taking a gap year, strategically plan how you can make the most of this time to enhance your application before reapplying for the next round. Some options to consider are working in clinical research roles, pursuing research fellowships, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and even taking up elective courses. Additionally, you can also think about taking the USMLE Step 3, as passing this can give you an edge in this competitive landscape and showcase your preparedness for residency. 

No matter the outcome, Match Week 2025 is an important milestone. If you matched, soak it in and start prepping for an exciting chapter of your medical career. If you didn’t, take a deep breath, and remember you’re not out of the game yet; and we’re all rooting for you!