*RUSM has a first-time residency attainment rate of 96%, calculated as the percent of students attaining a 2025-26 residency position out of graduates or expected graduates in 2024-25 who were active applicants in the 2025 NRMP match or who attained a residency position outside the NRMP match. AUC’s first-time residency attainment rate for 2024-2025 graduates and expected graduates is 95%. SABA’s four-year residency placement rate of 97% is calculated as the percent of students attaining a residency position out of all graduates or expected graduates in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 who were active applicants in the NRMP match or attained a residency outside the NRMP match. As of July 17, 2025, they have not published their 2025 rates. SGU’s US residency placement rate of 94% pertains to graduates over five years from 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 with the rate calculated as the total number of students/graduates who obtained a US residency divided by the total number of students/graduates who applied to a US residency program in a given year as of April 2025.
No stranger to the medical field, Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) 2021 MATCH student Michael Lucarelli-Cowles strives to incorporate positive vibes into an anxiety-ridden environment while treating his patients as if they were family members.
“I love the medical mystery, finding out what is harming the patient and helping them on the worst day of their lives,” said the former nurse who describes Emergency Medicine as “a little bit of every specialty put into a blender and shaken, not stirred.”
Though the National Resident Matching Program® (The MATCH ℠) process has not been easy, like the rigor of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® Step exams, Michael persevered and finally felt rewarded when he began clinical rotations. “My work ethic and dedication were finally recognized and valued. Being trusted by residents and attendings to perform procedures is the best vote of confidence anyone can hope for.”
While medical school may be tough, that didn’t deter Michael from his goal when COVID-19 put the brakes on rotations. The California native and his girlfriend, then in New York, were acutely aware of what was happening and acted like any tenured doctor in the field — they offered to volunteer. “It was an experience we will never forget for two reasons. One, we faced more death in that time period than we thought possible. And two, we both were functionally working in a crisis center for an unknown disease that prepared us that much more for residency.”
To Michael and all 2021 MATCH students, we support your journey and look forward to celebrating your achievement.
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