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It’s July, which means ERAS is officially open and at some point, you are probably going to stare at your program list, watch the application fees multiply, and wonder if you’ve cast a wide enough net. For years, the standard advice from well-meaning attendings was to “just apply to 80 residency programs to be safe.” […]

Your away rotation is a four-week interview that decides your career. And yet, most medical schools spend zero time teaching you how to actually perform on one. The data is consistent across specialties:  roughly 50% of matched applicants match at a program where they rotated. Your away rotation isn’t just one part of your application

Position types are one of those things that medical school largely leaves you to figure out on your own. Your home institution’s advising office may have mentioned them in passing during a career advising session in MS2. If you were lucky, a resident explained it to you during an MS3 rotation. If you were unlucky,

This post was submitted to our team from a current MS-4 and MatchPal mentee. The contents of this post were unaltered from the original submission other than for grammar and formatting. I’m still processing it, honestly — so bear with me. I matched into anesthesia as a DO student — and as a first-generation physician

The Pass/Fail scoring for USMLE Step 1 & COMLEX Level 1 is here to stay – and it has fundamentally changed the residency application landscape. With one of the most prominent academic metrics now neutralized, program directors increasingly turn to other signals of applicant strength — and research experience will likely emerge as one of

One of the most pivotal decisions you’ll face as a medical student is choosing a specialty that aligns with your passion, skills, and desired lifestyle. This blog post aims to provide a comprehensive guide, complete with an algorithm, to help you navigate the labyrinth of medical specialties and the factors you absolutely need to consider

Residency interviews are the final — and often most decisive — step of the match process. They are your opportunity to transform the facts on your ERAS application into a compelling story about who you are as a future physician. Below is a step-by-step checklist to help you show up organized, confident, and ready to

Last updated: 9/8/2026· Written by the MatchPal Advising Team It’s July, and that means thousands of med students are stepping into their Sub-Internships. Whether you’re rotating through the OR, ICU, or clinic, your Sub-I is more than just another clerkship—it’s your audition for residency. The challenge? Most schools don’t actually teach you how to succeed

If you’re a fourth year med student gearing up for the residency match, chances are you’ve already poured tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of dollars into your education. You’ve bought expensive board prep courses, paid for travel/housing for away rotations, conference travel, exam fees, and more. So why do so

As a DO at a newer school, I didn’t have a home Anesthesia program or any robust in house mentorship/advising for the specialty. It was a grind for every shadowing opp, LOR, and interview. In this article, I’ll dive into how I navigated the process and things I’d do differently if I had to do