With Match Day 2020 over and done, the National Residency Match Program released a general overview of this year’s data, which provides some insight into how many individuals applied, matched into residency, and the allotment of program seats across various specialties. A comprehensive version of this data is projected to be available in May. Continue reading below for a few highlights from the 2020 Match.

 

Record-Setting Residency Numbers

Applicants of the Main Residency Match 2020 helped turn this year’s Match into the largest in history. Just over 40,000 individuals applied for the 37,256 slots available this year. This increase was not a shock, though. It is the first year that both osteopathic and allopathic graduates are eligible to apply for what is now called the “Single Match.”

 

Matched IMGs on the Incline

This year, international medical graduates made a comeback with more substantial applicant numbers and an increase in the percentages of individuals who matched. In the last three years, residency applications for IMGs routinely declined. This year, 5,167 IMGs applied to the Match. In comparison, 5,080 IMGs applied in 2019.

3,154 of these 5,167 individuals matched into residency. According to the NRMP, this is the highest match rate for IMGs since the early 1990s. With the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program still in progress, these rates may increase as international medical students snag up unfilled residency spots.

 

Primary Care is Prime

Family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics offered the most residency spots in this year’s Match. If this is a trend that continues, it could be good news for IMGs as internal medicine and family medicine rank in the top 5 most matched specialties for IMGs.

 

Planning to apply for medical residency in the U.S.? A clinical experience through AMO can help you gain the skills and application requirements to lead you to success.

Create an account to explore and apply for clinical experiences today >

 

Want more information on the Match? Check out the following posts!

Apply to the Match: Eligibility Requirements

4 Tips to Succeed in the Match

Age and Applying to Residency in the U.S.

Basics of the NRMP’s SOAP