College of Medicine students learn their residency destinations at Match Day

Today, 120 fourth-year medical students at Penn State College of Medicine learned where they will spend their residencies in an annual tradition known as Match Day. A similar scene played out with fourth-year students at medical schools across the country.

The event for Penn State's medical school, which took place at the Hershey Country Club, included a countdown to the moment when students eagerly ripped open the envelopes that held their futures. The moment was marked by cheers, hugs and tears.

>> View a photo gallery from the Match Day event

This is the culmination of a process that began months ago as students visited and evaluated residency programs – and the programs evaluated them. Today, each student learned whether he or she was successfully ‘matched' with the residency program of their choice.

Thirty percent of the College of Medicine graduates accepting residency appointments within Pennsylvania, with half of those staying at Penn State Hershey. The rest of the students are headed for programs across the country. Of all the graduates, 38 percent accepted residencies in primary care.

>> Read more coverage of Match Day 2015 on Penn State Medicine

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