Found this old post on the grading system... Keep in mind it's from 2008 but I doubt that they made it a MORE difficult curve from then:
"The grading system isn't too bad. Top 10% get Honors, the next 20% get high Pass, and essentially, 60-70% of the class gets a pass (a few people fail some tests though). The "Low pass" is reserved for the bottom 5-10% of the class, but this is an INTERNAL/INSTITUTIONAL designation- i.e. residencies will see "Pass." The only reason "LP" is given is so the student is given a wake up call.. (you are close to failing). If you get multiple LP's and you are struggling, the school tries to help you (you meet with advisors/counselors, etc). So essentially its top 30% of the class gets distinction (H/HP), the rest get pass.
A few years ago there was a poll administered by the Student Medical Education Committee about whether students preferred the current grading system, or would rather have Pass/Fail. Surprisingly, most people voted to keep the current grading criteria! If I remember correctly, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years had over 60% voting in favor of grades, while 1st years were deadlocked at 50-50. It seems that the people who get high passes and honors want to keep the system intact, while the people who get all passes want to do away with it.. For this reason it has not changed and probably won't in the near future.
Don't worry guys, its really not that bad. There will be some gunners but honestly, undergrad was WAY worse in terms of competitive nature!"
EyeMD116,
May 14, 2008