Baylor is now straight pass-fail. UTSW last I looked is on the ABCDF system. Baylor does not curve exams. Again, last I checked, UTSW does bell curve some exams.
Baylor's Pass/Fail and 8-12 schedule is appealing...along with there 1 huge exam per block rather than separate individual ones that last for 4 days in a row...
Does anyone know if Southwestern is pass/fail? and what there schedule is? Is it 8-12 or 8-5....also whats the exam setup?
UTSW is pass/fail for the first half of first semester to help ease the transition into med school. It switches to letter grading after that, but the exams are not graded on a bell curve any more. The grade cutoffs are set in advance, and they won't be raised. The professors do reserve the right to
lower the cutoffs, which is only to your advantage.
So far for first year, class was 9-12 for biochem, 5 days a week, then 1-5 for anatomy, 3 days a week. Except for small-group once a week, none of the other classes are required. Lectures are available on .mp3 (audio and video for 2nd year), and you have 24/7 access to the anatomy lab to review the dissections on your own time (except the professors and TAs are only there during regular class hours). Exams are every 2-3 weeks, which I prefer. Med school comes at you fast and hard, so I'd much rather take an exam every couple of weeks than double the amount of material I need to cover for a single exam. Some people prefer the opposite, but it's a very personal choice. I think the MS2s take a block exam every few weeks, and they're always on Fridays.
I don't personally know anybody at Baylor, but from the way you describe it, there are probably more total class hours at UTSW than Baylor. Like I said though, only 1.5 of those hours at UTSW are technically required. Also, we're all learning the same material in preparation for the same licensing exams to do the same jobs. Baylor might have fewer total classroom hours, but I would bet dollars to doughnuts that if you count the time outside of the classroom, they study just as much as any other med student in the country.
It's Baylor for me. Utsw spends a lot of time and energy to dispel the rumors of a very competitive and cut throat program. Must be something to it if that have to continually defend the school. I think the interview days were too long should have been done one day only. Bcm on the other hand had a nice presentation and how could you miss when your standing in the largest med center in the free world.
We do seem to spend some time each week addressing the "cutthroat" rumor, but it's not always by choice. To be quite honest with you, we've talked about whether or not we should bring it up, at the risk of giving more attention to what's essentially an "I heard from my friend's roommate's cousin's next-door-neighbor" rumor. If I had to make a list of the 3 most common questions we get asked at the Friday dinner or Saturday lunch, it'd probably be "why did you choose Southwestern?" "what don't you like about UTSW?" and "I hear the students are super competitive." They're all great questions, but realize that while you pass through here once, we see 50-60 applicants every week, and that last one gets asked often enough that odds are someone at the table is thinking about asking it.
As for the feeling that the interview days are too long, I'll pass that on to the administration. For those of you who haven't yet interviewed at UTSW, only the Saturday interview is required. The Friday stuff is just a chance to go on rounds, hear a bit about the school, and score some free food. It has no bearing on your chances of getting accepted, and you're not going to miss out on anything absolutely crucial if you only go on Saturday.
People STILL have this debate? Wow. Seriously, go where you think you'll be happier.
Exactly. Go with your gut, and you won't be disappointed. Southwestern won't be the right fit for some people, while others might feel the same about Baylor. Think about what's important to you and then make that decision when the time comes.