When I interviewed, most students said they spent a lot of their clicker sessions studying and watching lectures rather than really participating in the clicker sessions. Also, they said you don’t essentially “have to” attend the clicker sessions if you are doing well and happy not getting that extra percentage on top of your grade just based on exams etc. In my opinion, we will just have to see what happens once we start and get into the groove of things. Everyone studies differently and manages time differently, but I’m confident we will find our methods that work best for us!
December 3rd! You’re welcome!
Do we know the last interview dates that have gotten feedback either way? I was 3/18 and continue to barely maintain my sanity as I wait.
I sent an LOI as well as an update letter to Frank between that time.
Agree to disagree, I think having some form of interactive learning is better than nothing, and worst yet, some schools have mandatory lectures M-Fr 8-5. Although, I considered myself a semi-independent learner, i do in fact, love the idea of sitting in class and have that opportunity to exercise what i learn by talking/discussing with my classmates and professors. As you can see already, not everyone is alike in terms of studying habits. So, don't bash the curriculum just bc it may not be the best-fit for you. Anyway, Im not a current student, so I don't know truly to the extent of how current students are handling this issue, but to me, I don't mind at all being in class bc having it mandatory keep me on my feet and stay on task. My take is, wherever you go for med school, manage your time well, and work around the school curriculum, and you'll be just fine!
+1 The way the curriculum is set up aligns very well to the results of a lot of STEM education research. Also not a current student but my perspective as an applicant. But as with any curriculum, it takes a good amount of buy-in for it to be successful.
I didn't mean to say that you are bashing the curriculum as it would be silly since youre not a current student, rather, that post was for the person who initially posted "the curriculum is deeply flawed". As to anything in this day of age, take anything you read online with a grain of salt. Those who posted their hatred comments/negative remarks online are far few from the majority. It is always best to keep our filter in check when reading these online forums.
Wrong. Exams are usually on Mondays but during busier times of the year, there may be 3-4 tests within a 7 day time frame if you include practicals. For example: Monday-anatomy written/practical, Wednesday - OSCE, Friday OMM written, Monday - Immunology written. This is not an unrealistic exam schedule at all at this school. Tell me, how are you supposed to watch the lectures for class AND study for all these exams? Some weeks, there are six hours of video lecture for anatomy alone. I haven't met a student yet who can do it all. It's not as if one hour in clickers translates to one hour less you need to study for a test. Clickers are nothing more than an added responsibility for which we simply haven't got the time. And once you do get behind, you tend to spiral further and further and it becomes very difficult to catch up. As mentioned above, it's the fact that we don't have the option to come that is the main problem. Some people like to go to class, I get it. One person above mentioned that this sounds like it could work in theory. So did communism and that's all I'll say about that. If you want to be an idealist and say "if you manage your time effectively, you'll be fine" go ahead. But the reality is that this is like having your hands tied behind your back and thrown into the ocean.
I can't wait for you to try it.
Musculo said:
So basically 20% of the grade is based on mandatory lectures. Yikes, that’s quite a bit! They said that exams are graded on a curve based on the previous year IIRC. So students this year aren’t performing as well as previous years??
Clickers are 10% of your grade, not 20%. That 10% comes from the number of questions you answer correctly during the semester. Attendance is "mandatory" because you will be marked as having gotten every question wrong if you don't show up. You will likely answer most of the clicker questions correctly because you and your classmates will have the PowerPoint slides on your computer and you will frantically Ctrl F for key words to find the answer. The main point I am trying to drive home is that it becomes impossible to show up to clickers prepared because there are NONSTOP exams and practicals. It is barbaric. You simply cannot watch all the lecture content and adequately prepare for exams simultaneously. The time simply isn't there. The schedule allows you no freedom whatsoever and you are merely responding to the next crisis. We all sit in clickers CLUELESS because we've either just had a huge exam or have practicals/OSCEs/written exams within the next day or two. We calculated an average of one test every 2.3 days during the last two weeks of October. The spring semester is worse. Believe me, I'm not some pissed off, failing medical student who's just bitter at the curriculum (although I truly do hate it). I am telling you the facts as myself and most of my classmates have come to learn them. These are things people need to know before they make a decision to come here. Nobody at the school will tell you this when you interview. You will only see the positive side. Whenever an interviewee asks me "how do you like it?" I respond with "it is extremely challenging but I'm grateful to be here". And that's true. The reason I don't tell the whole truth is because I don't want to fill someones head with this sad reality on the day of his interview. Neither am I trying to rob anyone the joy of having gotten into medical school. If this is your only acceptance, congratulations, you made it into a US school and you'll be a doctor soon enough. But I hope you are are good at cramming because you will be doing plenty of it unless something changes.
I’m saying “the prepared for a life in healthcare” from the prospective of a PT who’s in management and the work is always there because of documentation requirements, and constantly changing insurance, federal and state regulations. I never feel caught up and feel similar to a student constantly cramming for a test. I definitely agree with you with regard to the clinical stuff and residency being what prepares you the most.
