Match Day: ‘The moment we’ve been waiting for’ 

The atmosphere was one of excitement and anticipation as fourth-year medical students at the University of Illinois Chicago waited to learn which residency programs they had been accepted to during the Match Day ceremony on March 21 at UIC’s Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum.

As the countdown neared the end, the room went quiet. Three … two … and one! Students ripped into white envelopes containing the name of their residency programs, where they will complete their training and begin careers as doctors. Cheers erupted as students jumped from their seats to celebrate with family and friends.

This year, 274 medical students from the three College of Medicine campuses were matched with programs nationwide. Of those, 173 at UIC matched in 21 specialties in 28 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada. Fifty from the Peoria campus matched in 17 specialties in 17 states, and 51 from the Rockford campus matched in residency programs in 17 specialties in 19 states. At universities across the country, a record 47,208 students were involved in Match Day, according to officials. 

For College of Medicine students, the top-matched specialty of 2025 was internal medicine, followed by family medicine and anesthesiology. The top hospital placement was at UI Health with the University of Illinois Hospital, followed by Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. 

Match Day is a coordinated event in which students nationwide are notified at the same time of their placements in residency programs, where they will receive three to seven years of specialty training. 

For Mehul Patnam, Match Day culminates a lifetime of hard work. 

“My way of looking at it is that the decisions have been made already. The results are already in. The work has already been done, and it’s been a long, fulfilling and satisfying journey,” Putnam said. “Twenty years of work, knowledge and motivation from my parents, my friends and those around me are what led me to be here today.” 

Patnam — who is from Champaign, Illinois — was sitting with his parents when he opened his envelope and read that he matched with his first pick, Northwestern University in Chicago, for anesthesiology. 

“I think for the longest time, I was trying to downplay the whole ceremony because I would be happy anywhere,” he said. “But this match at Northwestern, it’s just icing on the cake.”  

Ashwini Deshpande, of Vernon Hills, knew from a young age that she wanted to be a doctor. While her heart was initially set on becoming a cardiologist, she turned her focus to internal medicine.  

She said UIC was the ideal place to train and learn. 

“It’s great to be in the middle of the city,” she said. “There are lots of diverse neighborhoods nearby, and that’s helped me have a nice life outside of school.”

Deshpande matched at Stanford University in Stanford, California — her second choice — but is excited to work and live on the West Coast.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, to actually have jobs as doctors,” she said. “I’m super excited. I’ve never lived in California, so we’ll see how that goes. But I’m over the moon.”

Sam Jiang, who matched with a neurosurgery program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, said UIC gave him an edge in a competitive field.

“This year, there were 600 for around 240 spots. It’s really the people who really get you there,” said Jiang, a Boston native. “So I’m immensely grateful. I’m very happy that I spent my medical school years here.”

Jiang, who was joined by his mother and fiancé, said the outcome, not the placement, was what really mattered.

“I’m going to be a neurosurgeon,” he said. “I think it’s just a privilege and honor. You get to save lives, and there’s nothing greater than that.”