We provide scholarships for medical students applying to residency.

Thalamus.org provides grants, including scholarships and fellowships, and related means of financial assistance to medical students from communities of color and other underrepresented populations in medicine, navigating the transition from medical school to residency.

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The medical students whom we teach today will become the doctors of tomorrow, carrying our values, skills and our hopes for the profession into the future.

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Apply for your Scholarship

Thalamus.org provides funding to increase access to residency programs, attendance at medical conferences, and professional leadership experiences.

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Our Partners

Applying to Residency: By-the-Numbers

The residency application process is expensive, time-consuming and anxiety-provoking. Many of the more sought-after specialties are extremely competitive. Medical students can incur thousands of dollars in additional debt and student loans during their last year in medical school as they apply for and interview at dozens of residency programs throughout the country.  A lot is at stake as these students have worked their entire lives to become physicians.  Given these costs, having available funds to pay to apply to residency is key.  Thalamus.org exists to provide equality of opportunity to all applicants regardless of the zip code where they grew up.

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Average Cost to Attend Medical School

$300K+

73% of medical students graduate with educational debt, averaging $200K+.  Students attending private schools have an average of $20K in additional debt.

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2022: Average Application Fees

$2,214

Medical students pay a per application fee to apply to residency via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) or the San Francisco (SF) Match.  A process that costs $125M+ annually and growing.

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2022: Average Applications per Medical Student

96

Applications per medical student have increased 5 - 10x over the last decade.  Over 20 percent of medical students are applying to more than one specialty.  The numbers are even higher for international medical graduates (IMGs)

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2022: Matched Applicants

39,205

The largest number of applicants matching to residency positions on record through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).  10,000+ applicants went unmatched.

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Total Annual Student Debt for Applying to Residency

$1B+

Medical students may take up to $25,000 in additional loans just to go through this process.  In aggregate, applying to residency accounts for ~3% of all medical education debt.

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Expected Physician Shortage by 2034

38K - 124K

Burnout, COVID-19, an aging baby boomer population and other factors, will lead to a shortage in both primary care and specialty physicians.  Underrepresented and underserved patient populations will be most affected, requiring interventions to ensure a representative physician workforce.

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Average Cost to Attend Medical School

$300K+

73% of medical students graduate with educational debt, averaging $200K+.  Students attending private schools have an average of $20K in additional debt.

Logo
2022: Average Application Fees

$2,214

Medical students pay a per application fee to apply to residency via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) or the San Francisco (SF) Match.  A process that costs $125M+ annually and growing.

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2022: Average Applications per Medical Student

96

Applications per medical student have increased 5 - 10x over the last decade.  Over 20 percent of medical students are applying to more than one specialty.  The numbers are even higher for international medical graduates (IMGs)

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2022: Matched Applicants

39,205

The largest number of applicants matching to residency positions on record through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).  10,000+ applicants went unmatched.

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Total Annual Student Debt for Applying to Residency

$1B+

Medical students may take up to $25,000 in additional loans just to go through this process.  In aggregate, applying to residency accounts for ~3% of all medical education debt.

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Expected Physician Shortage by 2034

38K - 124K

Burnout, COVID-19, an aging baby boomer population and other factors, will lead to a shortage in both primary care and specialty physicians.  Underrepresented and underserved patient populations will be most affected, requiring interventions to ensure a representative physician workforce.

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Who we are

The vision of Thalamus.org is to promote diversity, equity and inclusivity in the residency recruitment process, which ultimately benefits physicians, healthcare systems and most importantly, underserved patients.

As part of this activity, in addition to providing assistance to URiM residency applicants, Thalamus.org partners with leading stakeholders, academics, researchers and non-profits to collaborate and receive grant funding to promote synergistic research opportunities and outcomes.

These collaborations serve as joint research initiatives to better examine how socioeconomic status and other applicant characteristics are affected by the current recruitment processes.

The main goal of these projects will be to drive data-driven research initiatives to promote policies and expand diversity, equality and inclusion in the UME to GME transition.

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Testimonials

Check out the testimonials from students!

Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

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5.0
Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

yellow star icon
5.0
Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

yellow star icon
5.0
Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

yellow star icon
5.0
Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

yellow star icon
5.0
Muslim hijabi girl wearing glasses and smiling
“Let gathered fill a cattle i form so living to which whales first moving. Stars give life firmament sixth the beginning there good over divided. Them him together meat gathered his above don't from bearing place without.“

Jane Doe

Medical Student

yellow star icon
5.0
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Let's work together so all medical students can afford to apply to residency.