Student Experience

UVA med students celebrate Match Day

Cheers, hugs and nervous anticipation filled the University of Virginia’s Old Cabell Hall on Friday as 150 soon-to-be School of Medicine graduates opened envelopes revealing where they will train next – a major milestone known as Match Day, taking place simultaneously at medical schools across the country.

Margaret Holstege smiles and accepts bouquet.

Margaret Holstege will do her residency in emergency medicine at the UVA Health University Medical Center. “I’ve been at UVA for undergrad, medical school and now residency,” she said.

“I’m really excited. I’ve been at UVA for undergrad, medical school and now residency. So, this is really special,” said Margaret Holstege, surrounded by her family after learning she will stay in Charlottesville for her residency.

Emily Scheffel will stay in Charlottesville to train in cardiac surgery. “I’m so excited by the culture here, the amazing surgery that we do and the opportunities that UVA is going to give me,” she said.

Students matched into 25 specialties across 29 states, with 30 continuing at UVA Health University Medical Center. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and New York were among the most common destinations for students’ next stops.

For many, the day marked both an ending and a beginning.

Emily Scheffel, who has trained at UVA since 2017, will stay to pursue cardiac surgery, a field she discovered through mentors here.

“I am so thankful to be trained as a cardiac surgeon by the mentors who made me fall in love with cardiac surgery and everything that we get to do for patients,” Scheffel said. “I’m so excited by the culture here, the amazing surgery that we do and the opportunities that UVA is going to give me.”

Others are heading farther from Charlottesville. Shreya Shetty matched to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and was still taking it all in on Friday afternoon.

“I’m kind of in shock,” Shetty said. “I really didn’t think I was going to get my first choice.”

specialties matched into

states where students will train

150

Students Matched

will train at UVA

Hassan Folks is headed back home. He matched into orthopedic surgery at the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn. Folks was born and raised in New York.

“I’m excited about Brooklyn. That’s my home,” he said. “Getting to this point, I can’t even describe it.”

Internal medicine was the most popular specialty among UVA students this year. Pediatrics, anesthesiology, family medicine and emergency medicine rounded out the top five.

Hassan and group of people smile and celebrate.

Hassan Folks celebrates learning he’ll be headed back to New York for a residency in orthopedic surgery at the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn.

No matter where they are headed, the graduates now take the next step in their training, carrying forward years of hard work and preparation.

Top 5 Specialties