By Linda Satter

The rain and fog outside didn’t dampen the bright smiles inside as students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) College of Medicine Class of 2024 gathered March 15 in downtown Little Rock for its Match Day celebration.

Inside a second-story ballroom in Robinson Center, where the Broadway Bridge over the Arkansas River loomed large through glass walls, tension began filling the air at about 10:30 a.m., as seniors, sitting among family and friends, awaited the arrival of 11 a.m.

That’s when the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) would release results showing which of 44,853 budding medical doctors, doctors of osteopathic medicine and graduates of foreign medical schools had matched to just 38,494 available residencies in the United States. The NRMP uses an algorithm to match the ranked lists of seniors and institutions, following weeks of applications and interviews.

College of Medicine Class of 2024 Gathers on Gray Day for Colorful Match Day Celebration