Hello!
How is the class schedule the first year? Is it pretty much all day 8 to 5 or is there some block of time available to study during the day?
It's actually more 8-12 every day. Then two days out of the week you have a small group session from 1-3 for either the problem-based learning part of the curriculum and "Patient, Physician and Society," which is essentially where we learn parts of the physical exam and then go practice those parts of the exam with our preceptors on real patients. But essentially, yes, Baylor gives us plenty of time to study on our own during the day; the entire afternoon most days
I have a heard a lot of speculation and rumors concerning Baylor's financial situation (some issues concerning being unable to pay for certain hospital projects, losing clinical rotation sites, etc.).
Have those issues been resolved, or is it still ongoing?
I've written extensively about these issues in last year's application thread and elsewhere about this, and I encourage anyone interested to go see what has been said elsewhere.
Briefly, I honestly don't know what the current status of BCM's finances is. While there have been lots of rumors, I haven't seen the hospital or financial situation directly affect our education; for example, despite the supposed difficult financial situation, we are in the process of completely renovating the anatomy lab for the new first year class, which tells me that the administration is still committed to providing a top-notch medical education. I do know that all signals out of the president's office point toward a strong financial recovery, but again I really haven't been following the specifics. If it is something that truly concerns you, I encourage you to ask the deans on your interview day, as they would probably be able to give you more information than I can.
I have not heard any rumors of Baylor losing clinical rotation sites. My classmates and I continue to rotate through Ben Taub, the VA, St. Luke's, Texas Children's, Methodist, MD Anderson, and many other private hospitals and clinics.