I went to UE when I first applied back in... October? And they told me it wasnt PBL anymore, it was integrative, meaning it was like 1/2 PBL, 1/2 Trad. Now I was wondering, do you have any mates over there that could vouch for not attending class to study on their own or is that against the school policy?
Also, what makes the UE administration better than fatima in terms of USMLE goals? If you know or know of anyone that could answer these, that would be great. Thanks!
Yes, the schools here that tried PBL didn't totally scrap it, they utilize some sort of pseudo PBL system. UP and UST also do this, as well as Fatima with our group clinical case studies.
And yes, I have friends from UE that can vouch for not attending class lol. One in particular that scored in the 99th percentile for the step. The thing is.. attendance IS "required".. a certain percentage of your grade (small percentage) is from attendance.. but these are mostly "bonus points".. like getting 5% extra for having perfect attendance (I know, like grade school right).. however; it is not really the attendance that will make the grade suffer, it is the fact that (all) med schools here give exams called "shiftings", or "platings" almost everyday. Think of these small exams as equivalent to an undergraduate midterm each.. these comprise up to 15% of your grade sometimes collectively.. for ppl that don't attend class, they miss out on points from attendance, exams, or both. They still pass the classes, since midterms (we call "prelims", are like Super exams with hundreds of questions) and finals comprise the largest chunk of the overall grade.
So yes, not attending class has its risks and consequences.. I will rephrase what I say, and I believe this goes for what others on here say.. to be: "didn't attend class
much of the time.. to study MLE material".. but the reality: much of what's covered on the MLE, class covers as well, just that the class covers above and beyond the scope of the test.. I venture to say that studying parallel topics for the MLE alone is enough to pass the classes sometimes. So far, it's happened for me. Just make sure to at least skim through the PPT's given in class (sometimes, could be up to around 120 slides)
For the UE and Fatima administration: I ranked UE higher for the sole fact that it has a better local reputation.. really, the two schools objectively, are equal to me. Fatima has really good teachers also, and both have "satisfactory" facilities.. UE is in a
better area, but FCOM has a separate International class that starts in Sept. whereas UE students are intermixed with their local students. UE has more Fil-ams (probably coz of the Mezza apartments ^_^) whereas Fatima has a good mix everyone (Thailand, UK, Taiwan, Nepal, etc..). I personally chose UE, am now in Fatima for a a misunderstanding about admissions timelines, and have no real regrets (except that I don't live in that cool Messa Apt complex)
Hope this helps!
So do you personally go to the US to apply for residencies/to find a match?
