I was a skeptic of our curriculum coming in but I can say after 7 months that our curriculum actually saves me so much time in preparation. Most classes are called Peer Instruction or PI. You prepare for the material at home and then you come in and answer multiple choice questions on a clicker in class. If a certain percentage of the class gets it correct, you move on more quickly. If not, you discuss it with the people sitting next to you and the professor teaches on it for a few minutes. PI is a really good way to gauge if you are studying the material properly before you get to an actual exam. BSOM has done a lot of research into their curriculum and how the frequent quizlike PIs reinforce student learning. Also, PI is only 3 hours so you can use the entire rest of the day to study as you see fit unlike other schools where you might be listening to lectures for most of the day. We also have TBL(Team Based Learning) sessions that are a little more PBL-like. We're given a case, discuss it in groups of 6 and try to answer questions about it. Not as big of a fan of TBL but PI is by far the main learning modality. Additionally, we do have MCQ exams pretty frequently(every 3 weeks on average) which is an adjustment. But, in my opinion, it helps you to stay on top of the material and be accountable. Also, we take MCQ exams first as individuals and then again with a group so that you can learn questions/concepts that you didn't understand from others in your group. All in all, no school's curriculum will be perfect and BSOM's definitely could improve but I personally how much time I am able to spend studying independently.
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