‘You’re going to be spectacular’: Pritzker’s 2026 Match Day brings big emotions
The countdown began promptly at 11 a.m. Together, last Friday, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine students gathered to learn their residency placements — the next step in their careers — as part of an annual nationwide ceremony known as Match Day.
Three, two, one.
As envelopes were torn open, the auditorium in Ida Noyes Hall filled with screams and happy tears.
“It’s like watching the New Year’s ball drop,” said Dominic Montas, who matched for a general surgery residency in his hometown at the University of Miami at Holy Cross Health. “No one in my family was able to sleep last night. The energy is buzzing.”
Others found the big moment surreal.
“Today felt like a fever dream. I don’t know if I would do it again, but I loved it,” joked Ceylon Auguste-Nelson, who will begin a combined residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. “I keep re-checking the envelope. I’m very excited.”
Nationally, this year's Match was the largest in its 74-year history, with more than 48,000 applicants submitting certified rank-order lists to their preferred programs.
Day of celebration, reflection
Match Day marks the last time outgoing Pritzker students are together before graduating at the Divisional Academic Ceremony on May 22. The event offers family and friends a chance to celebrate, in person and via livestream, and to reflect on the soon-to-be doctors’ accomplishments.
“Nobody makes it here without people who love and support them,” Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker school, told the Match Day audience. “It’s not easy to make it this far — and, candidly, the next thing you do won’t be easy, either.
“But you’re all ready and you’re going to be spectacular.”
The group, at 98 students, is Pritzker’s largest matching class since 2014. A number of students joined the fourth-year class following pursuit of a dual degree or a research year.
It is also the last class to complete the school’s legacy curriculum (the new Phoenix Curriculum was introduced in 2024) and to enter medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commitment to community
Before the envelopes were distributed, Pritzker students watched a photo slideshow and laughed as class superlatives ranging from “master of the microbiome” to “best hype woman” were projected on a screen.
They also were praised for their dedication in and out of the classroom.
“Whether it was working at a free clinic or a formal, or furthering your research scholarship, you have invested in the people our institutions serves and the people here, as well as each other,” said Vineet Arora, MD, Dean for Medical Education at Pritzker.
Andrea Gomez, one of 23 Pritzker students who matched with the University of Chicago Medical Center, said she was inspired by working at a South Side clinic with Spanish-speaking patients, including children she called “the most resilient beings.” Gomez will pursue a pediatrics residency.
Montas shared similar sentiments: “The University of Chicago does a great job of making sure we're prepared to treat the underserved by developing that cultural competence to meet a patient where they're at — to think outside of our own perspective and connect with people.”
Where Pritzker students are headed for 2026 residency match
The top specialties among Pritzker’s Class of 2026 were:
- Internal Medicine (28 students, 29%)
- Psychiatry (10; 10%)
- Anesthesiology (7; 7%)
- Emergency Medicine (7; 7%)
- Pediatrics (7; 7%)
Half of Pritzker's Class of 2026 will stay in the Midwest, and one-quarter will stay at UChicago Medicine.
The top institutions where students matched were:
- University of Chicago Medical Center (23)
- University of California system (12)
- Harvard University programs (10)
- Northwestern University programs (6)
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (3)
- UT Southwestern Medical School (3)
For Taytum Kahl, who will stay at UChicago for an OB-GYN residency, the Match Day festivities represented a full-circle moment.
“It’s truly felt like home since coming here four years ago,” Kahl said. “I had surgery here myself and I want to be a surgeon to help other women. And I’m so excited to see where all my classmates will go and how they’ll bolster their communities as well.”
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