You should really ask someone with the benefit of having done all four years.
The first year is tougher than it is than at many of the other schools in town. Why? Most of the basic science lectures are poorly done. The exam questions come from an outdated pool of questions that were often never covered in lectures or the assigned reading. As a result, most people never go to class after the first month. Many people fail courses. During my M1 year, ~50% of students failed Immunology and ~33% Histology. That meant staying for summer make-ups.
Second year at UIC is actually a bit easier than the 2nd yeat at many of the schools in town. You also get ~2 months of uniterrupted study time for step 1.
I do have to mention however that the school tries to improve things and is very responsive to student feedback.
The beauty of UIC is the clinical training. Our affiliations with so many different types of hospitals gives you a great experience. VA, private, state hospital, private hospitals in economically deprived areas as well as in more affluent areas.
This is definitely a school where you have to be a self-starter. No one is going to hold your hand and take care of you. You have to know what you want and be pro-active.
Finally -the tuition. While not as good as other state schools, it is still much cheaper than the other schools in the area.
And in the end, most student matched exactly where they wanted to be.
Overall, I think that it was the best school for me and it really fit my personality.
