Part 1
Apply the semester before you graduate
Residency windows open while you're still in school. Most programs want the license by the start date, not the day you apply.
Aug 14, 2026 · 5 min read
A series in 7 parts
The First Year Path
Residency windows open while you're still in school. Most programs want the license by the start date, not the day you apply.
Part 2
The waiting game is still a job hunt
Four of five postings never mention experience. Most residency applications want the license by the start date, not the day you apply.
Aug 14, 2026 · 4 min read
Part 3
Most postings never ask for a year
Only one posting in eight states an experience bar. When one does, the most common ask is exactly one year.
Aug 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Part 4
Ask how many weeks before you sign
"Orientation provided" can mean a year of seminars or three shadow shifts. Ask which one you're signing.
Aug 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Part 5
The new-grad rate is at the floor
New-grad-welcoming postings start about $8,900 lower. The posted ceilings sit in the same place as everyone else's.
Aug 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Part 6
Most experience requirements in nursing postings are two years or less
Of 1,709 postings that stated a minimum, 45 percent asked for one year and 79 percent asked for two or less. Here's what that means, and what it doesn't.
Aug 14, 2026 · 6 min read
Part 7
The silence is a calendar, not a verdict
Half the welcoming pile is under fifteen days old, 3,679 postings say new grads welcome, and the January cohorts open applications within days. The quiet fall has mechanics, and September is when they move.
Aug 31, 2026 · 4 min read