Match Day reveals life-changing news for 121 UC Davis medical students

(SACRAMENTO)

Medical student Laiba Tauseef stood in a crowded room Friday morning, nervously gripping an envelope that held her future.

Her emotions were unmistakable in the final minutes before she was allowed to open it. "I'm so scared," she confessed, tapping the manila envelope on the table in front of her.

Then, at exactly 9 a.m., she tore into the envelope.

"I got Stanford!" she screamed. "This is everything I wanted!"

Laiba Tauseef described being scared in the moments before opening her envelope but it turned to joy when she learned that she was accepted into the pediatric residency program at Stanford University.

This is Match Day. It's a tension-filled tradition where graduating medical students open envelopes (on paper or online) containing letters that determine their next step toward becoming a physician.

The scene plays out simultaneously across the country as tens of thousands of medical students experience what is perhaps the most emotionally charged moment of their training.

Tauseef will begin her three-year residency in pediatrics this summer.

Residency is a yearslong training program required to become a full-fledged doctor, and students are committed to the program they're assigned.

"It's nerve-racking because you don't know if you're going to get your top choice," said Sean Muñoz, the UC Davis School of Medicine interim associate dean who oversees medical pathway programs. "After four years of hard work and dedication," he said, "it all comes down to this moment of opening up your envelope."

Tauseef was among 26 fourth-year medical students and more than 100 of their supporters who gathered at ANOVA, the on-campus apartment building at Aggie Square, for the decades-old ritual. Nearly 100 of their classmates marked the moment off campus at their homes with family, a practice that began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has continued as a more intimate alternative.

Instead of opening envelopes, those students refreshed a website at 9 a.m. revealing their match.

All 121 matching classmates were connected by Zoom, taking turns announcing their results on camera.

Samantha Peña reacts with excitement upon learning she's headed to Adventist Health White Memorial hospital in Los Angeles to train in OB-GYN.

Three friends celebrate three futures in Midtown

The air inside a midtown apartment recreation room buzzed with anticipation as classmates Vanessa Lopez, Alexandra Diaz and Cynthia Sun gathered with friends and family, including their dogs Colby and Arlo, to celebrate Match Day.

The trio's friendship began early in medical school, bonded by a shared preference for in-person learning over virtual classes. Years later, that connection made the wait for results both comforting and nerve racking as the countdown ticked closer.

"I'm nervous but very excited," Diaz said before opening her envelope via email. "It's now four years coming to an end. I'm just curious to see where I end up."

Lopez echoed the sentiment, reflecting on the long road that led to the day. "I feel super nervous because of all the time and dedication that came into interviewing and preparing for the whole process," she said. "You just have to trust that you end up where you are supposed to be."

At 9 a.m. they looked at their phones for the message that would alter their lives.

That's when the tension dissolved into cheers and smiles. Lopez learned she would attend the University of Southern California, Sun matched with New York Presbyterian and Diaz discovered she was headed to UC San Diego. Lopez and Diaz's residencies will be in internal medicine and Sun's will be in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat).

From left, Alexandra Diaz, Vanessa Lopez and Cynthia Sun gathered in a midtown Sacramento apartment to celebrate Match Day 2026 together with family and friends.

Friends and family who gathered for the occasion erupted into applause. Colby and Arlo shared their enthusiasm, wagging and weaving through the crowd as if they understood the significance of the moment.

Sun, surrounded by loved ones including her fiancé, Sam Weiser, and her parents, took a moment to reflect. "I'm feeling super, super excited and grateful to all the people who have helped me get this far - my patients, my mentors and my friends," she said.

Her mother, Angela Sun, who immigrated from China, watched proudly. "I just feel so excited for Cynthia," she said. "She has received so much support from her friends and her professors. We feel so blessed."

Behind the celebrations is a highly structured process

The pairing of medical students with residency programs is determined by a computer algorithm at the National Resident Matching program.

During their final year of medical school, students interview at residency programs across the country, then submit a ranked list of their preferred training sites. The programs, meanwhile, often affiliated with academicmedical centers like UC Davis, submit their own ranking of applicants.

Students and the training sites then submit their lists to the computer, which becomes the matchmaker.

This year, 122 UC Davis students entered the match and 121 secured positions. Unmatched students often spend a year conducting research and consider reapplying for next year.

Fourth-year medical student Aseem Kelly surrounded by close supporters, including his resident physician wife Sasha Beacham and their daughter Nalani.

From supporter to Match Day participant

What a difference a year or two - or three - can make

On this day in 2023, Aseem Kelly stood beside his wife, Sasha Beacham, as she counted down the final moments before opening her Match Day email as a UC Davis School of Medicine student.

Beacham's hard work paid off: She matched at her first choice - UC Davis Health's combined Family Medicine and Psychiatry Residency program.

"I remember being so nervous that day," Beacham recalled. "I was just hoping to match with one of the few dual family medicine and psychiatry programs in the country. Today feels very different - and it's really special to be the supportive partner this time."

Now it was Kelly's turn. As a fourth-year medical student, he was preparing to open his own Match Day email, reflecting on how much life had changed since that first celebration.

"It's kind of surreal to think back to Sasha's Match Day and see where we are now," Kelly said. "She's in her third year of residency, and we have our daughter Nalani with us. Today represents so much hard work, along with countless unseen moments and decisions along the way."

Medicine was not Kelly's first career. He previously spent seven years as a high school math teacher and later worked as a business analyst in the tech industry.

After watching Beacham go through medical school, he decided to pursue a career in medicine himself.

After three demanding and rewarding years at UC Davis School of Medicine, Kelly was ready to learn where his path would lead. Surrounded by his wife, daughter, friends, and extended family, he opened his email and learned he had matched at his first choice: The Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Psychiatry Residency program.

"I'm so excited to match with Kaiser Sacramento," Kelly said. "They have a brand-new psychiatry residency program, and I'll get to help build it. For me, it came down to finding the best place for my family - and this is exactly where we're meant to be."

More students than ever matched in California

Exactly half of students matched into primary care fields such as internal medicine, pediatrics and family medicine, which are much needed across the state, especially in rural areas. A record 91% of students will remain in California, many of them planning to care for underserved and vulnerable populations.

The large share of California-trained physicians, Interim Associate Dean Muñoz said, "really speaks towards UC Davis' mission of training physicians who want to support Californians throughout the state."

Nearly a quarter of the students - 23% - will stay at UC Davis for residency, in programs that typically last three to seven years.

What's next for the students

In the coming weeks, students will complete their final clinical rotations and graduate on May 16.

Then they will take a Transition to Residency course, to prepare for their next chapter - packing up and moving if necessary, and reporting to their residency programs on July 1.

Stephanie Winn and Liam Connolly contributed to this report.