Residency · Programs · List

How do I get a medical residency in the USA? - This is a common question not only for foreign medical school graduates but for many American students. Every year, programs receive anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of applications. While this number varies by specialty, even less competitive programs need to develop minimum initial filtering requirements in order to process such a huge number of applications. As result, USMLE scores, first attempt passage, clinical experience in the United States, time since graduation are very important for a successful application to a particular program. Additionally, the program can prefer exclusively U.S. MDs, DOs, IMGs or just U.S. IMGs, Caribbean graduates, etc. This is why it is very important to choose the right programs to apply to when submitting documents via Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
There are a lot of U.S. medical residency databases on the internet. AMA's FREIDA medical residencies list provides information about minimum USMLE requirements, program work schedule, features, benefits, contacts and additional information self-reported by programs. FREIDA shows locations of participating institutions, filters residency training programs by specialty, program type, location, first-year salary, visa, percentage IMGs, total positions, etc. Therefore, FREIDA is a convenient source of information for U.S. medical graduates and an important source of basic information for IMGs.
AAMC Residency Explorer Tool provides statistics about the number of applications, scores, sex, race, medical schools and other characteristics of matched candidates collected during the past several years for many programs. As an important feature for IMGs, this tool shows percentages of US and non-US international medical graduates matched into the program. Residency Explorer also compares your profile with profiles of matched candidates and provides basic search, bookmarking, and export features.

So, what is the difference between the ResidencyProgramsList, Residency Explorer Tool and FREIDA database? First of all,the ResidencyProgramsList tools for IMGs and U.S. graduates are targeted at providing information about absolute cut-off and preferred(soft cut-off) scores, program graduation preferences, program-specific requirements for U.S. graduates and specific requirements for IMG applicants. Also, for IMGs, required months of U.S. clinical experience, hands-on USCE requirements and time since graduation preferences are collected. The second direction is collecting information about new programs, not well-known programs that accepted IMGs and programs that are willing to accept IMGs. And the third direction is ranking programs by probability to be inclined towards a certain IMG candidate and by program reputation/competitiveness for U.S. graduates. All of these together makes ResidencyProgramsList an important tool for finding the right medical residency programs in the USA. Our list of residency programs provides the most advanced search engine, unique ranking algorithms, and friendly interface to streamline your application and find best residency programs for success.

Since 2017 the ResidencyProgramsList equips ambitious medical students and graduates with the essential data they need to conquer the U.S. residency match in their dream specialty.

The ResidencyProgramsList uses original, source-verified data collected directly from residency programs by our staff.

The ResidencyProgramsList database delivers information and analysis based on:

• Program minimum requirements and notes collected directly from residency programs
• Program-reported & manually collected verified current resident data
• Our own ResidencyProgramsList medical schools ranking based on residency results
• Official NRMP based statistics
• Official ACGME-accredited residency program directory
• Historical data collected by ResidencyProgramsList team

1. How should I use the ResidencyProgramsList data?
   ResidencyProgramsList focuses strictly on the high-impact data that drives your match decisions. Because every applicant is unique, we provide distinct, customized datasets for U.S. MDs, U.S. DOs, US IMGs, and non-US IMGs (both with and without visa requirements).

   • For U.S. Graduates: Deep insights into residency program reputation with filters perfectly aligned to domestic graduate requirements.
   • For IMGs: A completely separate list highlighting program preferences, exclusive IMG metrics, and our targeted Friendly Score—making ResidencyProgramsList the ultimate platform for international medical graduates.
   • Seamless Workflow: Sort programs to your exact preference, flip through them using the "Next" button, and easily bookmark programs or jot down personal notes as you research.

2. How often do you update the data?
   We continuously update our program data year-round, ensuring you always have access to current website links, the latest match statistics, and more. However, we update the core program requirements between late August and early September, as this is when most programs finalize their official changes.

3. How does the Friendly score calculation works?
   Out tool calculates Friendly score for IMGs who purchased an "Advanced" list. Designed specifically for IMGs by our in-house PhD mathematician, this algorithm relies on proven statistical methods. It comprehensively analyzes each program's preferences, requirements, historical match statistics, and complex numerical metrics to deliver a rigorous mathematical solution. The algorithm does not guess like Large Language AI Models often do - it is a dedicated and precise tool. The result is deeply meaningful data that goes far beyond simply sorting by the percentage of US or non-US IMGs.

4. Does ResidencyProgramsList provides free lists?
   Yes, we do. We offer two types of free lists. The first type is our "Explorer+" lists for highly competitive specialties like neurosurgery, dermatology, vascular surgery, ophthalmology, urology, plastic surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation (14 in total). For these, we collect and provide all available information completely free of charge. The second type is our "Explorer" lists, which are for specialties that commonly use standardized minimum requirements as filtering criteria. These lists are designed for those who have the time to research programs on their own. We maintain up-to-date links to program websites and current residents' pages. Users have three levels of bookmarking and can save private notes. We also provide free filtering by visa requirements and absolute Step 2 cut-offs, though only basic information about these programs is provided.