Any current students willing to talk about their experiences as an M1/M2 in terms of mandatory lectures, exam frequency, internal rank, etc? thanks
M2 here! We were the first year that went through the new systems-based curriculum, so there have been a couple changes made for the current M1s but they're pretty minor from what I hear.
Our curriculum starts with anatomy, biochem, immuno/micro before getting into organ systems. Anatomy lab is mandatory 2X-4X 2 hours a week, and there are some mandatory small group session where you learn histology and physical exam skills as well. However, as far as lectures go, the vast majority are not mandatory. We might have two or so a month when there are guest speakers or a department chair.
The amount of mandatory activities have decreased from M1 to M2 year, and you can pretty much choose to do whatever you want with your time. There's usually a 2 hour mandatory session every week with clinicians and imo are a nice way to make sure I'm keeping up with the material and review it in a clinical lens. Some other small group activities still exist so I'd say ~15 hours every month are mandatory events in M2 year.
During anatomy season, exams (+ anatomy practicals) were every 2-3 weeks which felt intense, but after that exams have been every 3-6 weeks depending on how long we spend in that organ system. Clinical OSCEs are roughly every other month.
Yes there's an internal rank and there are ways of calculating where you are before the school discloses it. Although in theory there's no difference between letter grades and p/f with internal ranking, it psychologically helps me. I feel a lot less pressure because at the end of the day all I see on my official transcript is that big P.
Because of our larger class, it's a bit harder to "stand out," but faculty are really nice and willing to chat (especially if you're one of the few that still go to lecture in-person). Everyone kinda does their own thing depending on what specialty they're interested in. Although there are definitely students that are pursuing competitive specialties that have to try very hard, it doesn't feel like a gunner-y environment. We share resources with each other and most people are pretty chill from what I've seen. There's also a student senate who are awesome and are great at advocating to admin on behalf of our class.
Hope that helps! Let me know if there's anything you want me to elaborate on.
