IMG applicant opportunities for residency

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digitalaize

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Although the match is very competitive, are there any residency spots that dont get filled completely every year? like any specialty?something that US graduates dont pick or prefer?? I will at least choose those along with others..

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Although the match is very competitive, are there any residency spots that dont get filled completely every year? like any specialty?something that US graduates dont pick or prefer?? I will at least choose those along with others..
Check out the most recent NRMP match data. Best place to start.
 
Although the match is very competitive, are there any residency spots that dont get filled completely every year? like any specialty?something that US graduates dont pick or prefer?? I will at least choose those along with others..

There are currently more spots than US seniors, although that gap is closing. There are certainly community hospitals in less desirable underserved areas which have traditionally filled open spots with IMGs, and presumably still will for the next matc, although the inter-IMG competitiveness is probably significant.
 
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The gap is actually not closing, at least not yet. This year, 6301 IMGs matched compared to 6355 in 2014 and 6307 in 2013. US schools are increasing enrollment, and no one knows exactly how the MD/DO residency merger will affect total overall numbers, but it is safe to assume there will still be lots of positions for IMGs over the next 2-4 years at least.

And to the OP, the vast majority of IMGs match into internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry or pediatrics. If getting any residency in the US is more important to you than a specific specialty, you should look into which programs in those specialties take lots of IMGs and focus on those. Your application should also be specialty specific, so sending the same personal statement/LORs to multiple specialties is a very bad idea.
 
The gap is actually not closing, at least not yet. This year, 6301 IMGs matched compared to 6355 in 2014 and 6307 in 2013. US schools are increasing enrollment, and no one knows exactly how the MD/DO residency merger will affect total overall numbers, but it is safe to assume there will still be lots of positions for IMGs over the next 2-4 years at least...

To be fair though, much of the "increase" in IMG numbers comes on the heels of the "all in" rule, where IMGs actually lost a ton of "prematch" spots (ie a big net loss) so overall the numbers aren't really as good as a few years back. US enrollment is increasing faster than residency spots and US match rates are holding fast at 94%, so you don't have to be a math whiz to see that the writing is on the wall. It will still be a few years before the door slams shut but it's getting progressively more competitive.
 
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