MS3

The Career Advising Curriculum consists of three main components,

1) Workshops, 2) Resources and 3) Career Advising for each year of your training.

Workshops:

Each year of your training consists of different workshops to enhance your career advising experience. Your final two years focus on workshops that prepare you for residency application and training.

Resources:

OCRA has created resources including specialty profiles which are UCR SOM specific data created for you to expose you to different specialties. In addition, we include resources form the AAMC Careers in Medicine, as well as residency application related resources.

Advising:

We offer career advising from members of our Career Advising Team: CAT Team (which includes OCRA and Clinical Faculty Advisors). Our OCRA Advising Team includes our Executive Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Dean for Career Advising, and Career Development Specialist and Career Advisors.

Workshops

MS3 Orientation: Transition to Clerkship T2C2

Habits of Successfully Matched Students: Competitiveness

Personal Statement Workshop

CV Workshop

Program Directors' Panel

MS4 Orientation (Occurs during middle of third year):

Session 1: A Deeper Dive into 4th Year
Session 2: Applying for Rotations and Your Residency Goals
Session 3: VSLO Information and Onboarding Requirements
Session 4: MS4 Pears of Wisdom: Professionalism and Expectations

VSLO FAQ / Residency Application Workshop – April 16, 2026

Here is a video on how VSLO works.

Introduction to the MSPE (MSPE Noteworthy Characteristics Video) and Noteworthy Characteristics (How to Write Noteworthy Characteristics)

MSPE Acronym
- A – Academic History (Years M1–M3: timeline)
- N – Noteworthy Characteristics (3 things that make you stand out)
- G – Grades (from 3rd year clinical clerkships)
- E – Evaluation Summary Paragraph (overview of your academic performance)
- L – Learning Overview (summary of UCRSOM curriculum)

Resources

OCRA Specialty Profiles: Specialty Profiles are UCR School of Medicine specific data for different specialties including where UCR alumni have matched.

AAMC Careers In Medicine: Specialty Indecision Scale

Submit Your AAMC Assessment
- https://ucriverside.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ERLLxYKa0BJwnc

Are there specialty specific recommendations for applying to residency?

Yes, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies Program Directors Association Guide for Residency Application releases specific information for every specialty. You can view the spreadsheet for all specialties which includes basic information like how many letters of recommendation should be utilized, who to get letters of recommendation from, how to best use program signals etc.

Program Directors Association Guides for Residency Applicants 2025-2026
You can also view individual specialties here: Program Directors Association Guides for Residency Applicants 2025 - 2026 - CMSS

Where can I view specialty specific residency application strategies?

Please note, below are links to different specialties that were both either previously recorded or will be having a live session in the next few weeks/months for this upcoming application cycle.

Residency Application Specialty Focus Previously Recorded:

How do I use data to research residency programs and utilize program signaling and geographic preference?

Residency Explorer

Please review residency programs that you are interested in through Residency Explorer which provides data regarding different residency programs by specialty that provides data regarding: minimum and maximum USMLE Step 2 scores that were offered an interview, % of interviews offered for applicants who signal (either general signal or via gold or silver signals).
Program signaling: Program Signaling and Interview Invitation Findings from the 2026 ERAS® Season | Videos & Movies on Vimeo
Geographic Preferences: Transition to Residency Research Series: The Role of Geography in the Application and Interview Process | Videos & Movies on Vimeo

What do I need to know about program signaling?

OCRA has recorded a video with a powerpoint presentation with tips to strategize how to best use your signals when you are applying to different programs. The link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF967cLYahwand and can be viewed on our OCRA webpage here: https://sites.google.com/ucr.edu/ocra/clinical-years. As a reference, in addition to our OCRA Signaling video and powerpoint, you can use these resources for further guidance regarding signaling including AAMC guidance and the number of signals for each program.

NRMP has updated the Match Fees page on the NRMP website.
To view important dates for the 2026 Main Residency Match Applicants Calendar and keep track of Match deadlines throughout the process, click here.
Charting Outcomes in the Match: Senior Students of U.S. MD Medical Schools

San Francisco Match

Military Match

What do I need to be working on between now and before July 1?

Noteworthy Characteristics in your MSPE/Dean's Letter (which are the three things that you are most proud of will be due to OCRA on June 30th) and your
- Noteworthy Characteristics: Your Noteworthy Characteristics are due by June 30th. You can meet with either Dr. Hanh Nguyen and/or Jennifer Wilson to review your noteworthy characteristics. A working draft of your MSPE will be available for you to review in the month of August and will be uploaded in early September to your residency application system.
Personal statement/CV
- Please remember that you should already have a working draft of your personal statement. If you would like for OCRA to review, please email Jennifer Wilson so that she can provide you feedback. You can email her at jennifer.wilson@medsch.ucr.edu and meet with her via her booking link: Book an Appointment with Jennifer

What are the residency application timelines that I need to know?

Advising

MS3 (Jun-Dec): Career Development Specialist: Humberto Santiago

MS3 (Jan-May): MS4 Residency & Career Advising: Jennifer Wilson

Associate Dean for Career Advising: Dr. Hanh Nguyen