Urology Residency Guide

Residency Application Process Overview

If you are thinking of applying in Urology, let us be the first to welcome you with both the good news and the bad. The good news is that you are attempting to enter one of the most dynamic, stimulating, and versatile fields of medicine (see Choosing Urology & Dr. Drach's Advice). The not so good news is that you are not alone. For the 2011-2012 match, the American Urological Association (AUA) received 481 match registrations (for approximately 115 non-military programs) and 381 match lists, while only 278 spots were available. That is, the overall match rate was only 72%. Some of these applicants were foreign graduates and US students who had already finished medical school (of these, some did not match into Urology in the previous years, some took a year or two off after medical school, and some were attempting to switch into Urology from other specialties). Among this subset of applicants, the match rate was 27% for foreign graduates and 55% for US medical school graduates. The rest (and the majority) of the applicants were 4th year medical students. Of these individuals, only 77% matched (follow link to see which medical schools traditionally send the most students into Urology). The numbers underscore the competitiveness of the Urology match, but do they suggest that you must walk on water to match in Urology? Absolutely not!!! Instead of being intimidated by these statistics, keep these numbers in mind to motivate you to enter the match process as prepared and informed as possible. The information in this guide will help you in these preparations and make you a more competitive candidate (follow link to see how this website has helped others).  Best of luck!