Everyone needs to relax a bit.
Applicants have every right to question and look further into the data provided by our website. They are at one of the most stressful times in their lives, and are provided limited information on each school/program to make a $250k choice that will influence the rest of their lives.
The current CMS students here are obviously extremely proud of their school, as they should be (this is an indication to how happy we are at this school). However there are some passive-aggressive comments here that don't exactly make us look welcoming. Don't forget you are representing the school and the student body on these forums. There's a limited number of us here and we should be looking to make the best impressions.
Graduation rates - I can't comment on how they are actually calculated. But the AAMC states, "Graduation rates for medical students have been stable in the recent past. Between
80.6 percent and 82.2 percent of each of the three cohorts in the study graduated in
four years. By the
fifth year, the overall graduation rate for the three cohorts climbed to
91.3 percent, about the same rate that Kassebaum and Szenas (1994) calculated for the 1988 matriculating class (91.2 percent). Within
seven years,
94.2 percent had graduated. A small number, including those in combined and dual degree programs, completed their M.D.s over longer periods, resulting in a
10-year completion rate of
96 percent for all three cohorts." See this
link. This seems to be on par with the graduation rates stated on our website.
From a personal stand point, I have seen less than a handful of students (1-2 every year) stay back or not continue due to
academic reasons. I have seen also a handful of students that do not continue medical school due to
personal/family reasons. Nonetheless, we graduate almost a full class every year. See this
link on graduation numbers for our school specifically (I have no idea what happened in 2014-2015). For reference - most classes enter with about 185-195 students.
End of the day, this is a fantastic school with an extremely strong match list. We have alumni all over the nation in leadership positions (PDs, department chairs). The school provides you everything you need to do well on boards, clerkships, and ultimately in residency.
It is extremely hard to fail out. The school provides helps to struggling students, multiple chances, exam retakes, tutoring sessions, class retakes, repeating the entire year - pretty much anything to keep you in.
Nonetheless, I encourage anyone that has doubts to reach out to admissions and seek clarification.
