Just thought I'd chime in… Current MS1 here.
PBL groups are capped at 8 students. Other small groups (the number of these can vary depending on the block… We had lots for Blood and lymph and lots now for CV/pulm/renal, almost none for M2M in the fall) are generally around 12 I would say. These are used to reinforce material presented in lecture and are generally presented in a case format. So far, they have been tremendously helpful. Yes, the funding is rough, but honestly I applied to CU and 18 other medical schools where I would have either been out of state or paying private school tuition. I'm not saying the school is perfect but the faculty, for the most part, have been awesome! Dr. Carry and the entire anatomy crew were just spectacular. I feel like I should hug them every time I see them on campus. And I'm not 100% sure of the situation but we have had classes taught by Dr. Boyer all semester. Rumor has it he will remain the pathology professor for CUSOM despite some shifting in the pathology department (unconfirmed-I'm not sure, but that's what I've heard). Dr. Boyer was even there for Second Look Day for the mock PBL case! I was pretty impressed. I think a cursory look at the match lists from the last few years will confirm that students are able to match into competitive specialties. And believe it or not, a lot of people I know actually are interested in primary care and that's one of the reasons they chose CU (not a bad thing in my opinion). If primary care isn't your cup of tea, I don't think CU will hold you back from competitive specialties.
I agree that this admissions process has been a bit crazy and I feel for everyone in limbo. That being said, lets not bash the school. It's a great place with a warm, supportive environment (for REAL, not like a bunch of other schools I interviewed at where, despite what the students claimed, the cutthroat atmosphere was palpable). CU is a great school and it is worth the wait in my opinion.👍