I feel like we have really good comradery in our class and are willing to help each other. We have former MSMS students who are now M1’s who have been extremely open to classmates reaching out for tips on how to study. I know that when I was struggling last semester, I had classmates whom I felt safe going to for help. I have not had any experiences with the “gunner” type of mentality here, which I’m really grateful for, and have always been met with a willingness to help by my classmates.
If you fail an exam (lower than 70%), you’re required to meet with the instructor of the class. It is not disciplinary, and the professor will meet with you to figure out how you have been studying and what to change, what they can help you understand better, etc. I also met with our dean of education to come up with test-taking strategies (not required, but I found it to be very helpful). I do know that there were some students who were really struggling with particular classes last semester, but because our class is so small, that was noticed early enough that meetings/tutoring/additional resources were put into place, and to my knowledge, we had no failed classes by MD students at the St. Louis campus last semester.
The combination of having small classes and being the inaugural cohort of the St. Louis location means that faculty here are very invested in us succeeding in classes and passing step, and they’re able to be very hands on.