March 20, 2009

A match made in Harkness
leads to some heavenly results

Despite a record-setting number of applicants this year, members of the Class of '09 were thrilled as they celebrated the next step on their career paths.

Match Day 2009
A matching pair: Sundeep Bhat (left) and Susan Mathai (right) share an embrace from a friend during Match Day festivities in Harkness ballroom.

When students rushed in to receive their letters of acceptance on Thursday—Match Day—the Harkness ballroom erupted with cheers as members of the Class of 2009 learned where they had matched for residencies. In seconds, the mood shifted from anxiety to relief as the next chapter in students’ lives—and where they would spend the next few years—became clear.

Before the letters were handed out, Joel Green said he was hoping to match to the internal medicine residency program at Northwestern University’s McGaw Medical Center. “I feel pretty good,” he said.

Larry Lo was more tense. Lo, who hoped to match in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said he felt “very, very anxious. Extremely anxious.”

“It’s tough just because neurosurgery is such a competitive specialty, and a larger program like Hopkins only takes a few residents,” said Lo.

But like many in their class, both Green and Lo received the news they were hoping for: they’d matched with their first-choice programs.

“I’m excited,” Green said after learning he’d matched at Northwestern. “It was what I expected.”

“I just told my fiancée that my hands are shivering right now,” said Lo after calling her with the good news.

Pats on the back and hearty shouts of congratulations filled the ballroom as students shared the news with each other and spoke to family and friends on cell phones. Associate Dean for Student Affairs Nancy Angoff, Dean Robert Alpern, Associate Dean for Admissions Laura Ment and other administrators made their way through the crowd congratulating students.

It was a highly competitive year for medical students at Yale and across the country. The National Resident Matching Program, which coordinates the Match by way of a computer algorithm, reported that 2009 set a new record with 29,890 applicants participating, 1,153 more than last year. The challenge, said Angoff, is that while medical schools are expanding their enrollments, the number of residency slots isn’t growing.

Popular specialties this year included plastic surgery, dermatology, radiation oncology, radiology and ophthalmology.

—Charles Gershman