Boston University School of Medicine student Jonathan Duskin was happy to find out Friday that he will be completing his neurology residency in a dual program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. But he was ecstatic when he realized he'd be doing that residency at the same hospital as one of his best friends, Hersh Bendre.

"I get to stay with one of my best friends for four more years," Duskin said.

"We've been together since BU undergrad, BU med and now MGH," Bendre said.

Duskin is one of 180 medical students from Boston University's School of Medicine matched with residency programs Friday as part of national Match Day. Bendre was matched with a residency program in urology at MGH earlier this year.

Medical students apply for specialty residency programs around the country, and on Match Day, they find out where they'll be going.

Today, envelopes with students' names were placed in neat rows on several tables on the 14th floor of BU's School of Medicine. After a champagne toast, students and faculty counted down from ten. When they reached one, students raced to the table and searched for their names. Frantic paper crinkling and cheers soon filled the room.

"This is my favorite day, I love it," said Angela Jackson, the associate dean of student affairs at BU's School of Medicine. "The energy is great. It's so wonderful to see the students excited about where they're going to go and ready to take on the role of physicians."

Of the 180 BU students matched today, 55 will stay in Massachusetts — that's the largest number to stay in the Bay State in the last three years.

Of those matched today, 20 will head to residency programs at Boston Medical Center at BU, and five will attend a dual Boston Medical Center and Boston Children's Hospital residency. In total, 30 states will be accepting graduates from the school's class of 2019.

Kristiana Sather was assigned to her first-choice residency in general surgery, in her home state of Minnesota. She says she always knew she wanted to study medicine.

"My great grandpa, my grandpa and my dad were all doctors, so I think growing up, seeing them care for people, I wanted to do the same thing," Sather said.

The dual neurology program at MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital was Jonathan Duskin’s first choice. Duskin said he's always been interested in science, but he decided to study neurology for personal reasons.

"Part of it, I think, [was] just like watching my grandmother struggle with Alzheimer’s and getting interested in how the brain works," said Duskin. "I studied neuroscience in college, and that kind of kept me going through med school."