Hi! I’m not a student at SOMA, but I recently spoke with several current students while making my decision, so I can share some of the information they provided.
1. Students are typically on campus from 8 AM - 12 PM most days, with a mix of small group discussions (CBI) and faculty-led workshops. Workshops are only mandatory during the first block to help students adjust, but after that, attendance is optional. Thursdays are the longest days, from 8 AM - 5 PM, due to OMM and Med Skills.
2. Classes are pass/fail, but students are still ranked. I was told that the grading scale is as follows: Pass (69.5-89.4), Honors (89.5+), and Fail (below 69.5). While rankings exist, students I spoke to said it doesn’t create a highly competitive environment.
4. All I know regarding this is that anatomy quizzes occur twice a week and are either for completion or graded with multiple retries.
5. Exams occur every four weeks (at the end of each block), and all exams for that block take place in a single week. Finals week can include up to seven exams.