a good start, but these aren't comparative statements. so point-by-point
1. The curriculum is very innovative, though probably not for everyone. As I understand it, there are no lectures or grades. This is very much like the Mayo curriculum except that this one is much more student-driven. Professors seem to be there more to guide the students but don't really teach in the traditional sense.
my strong opinion is that pre-meds put way too much emphasis on the first two years than they should. this opinion comes from reading the advice of residents and doctors on sdn and in-person. everyone is going to learn a basic amount of information in those two years, and you're ultimately going to be teaching it to yourself for the most part, no matter how the teaching is set up. med students do seem to like pass-fail (and many don't seem to like pbl). stanford is also pass-fail, unranked, for all four years. so in my opinion, this one is a wash. they are both pass-fail, and the importance of lecture vs. pbl is overblown and shouldn't play a big role in picking a school.
but then i forgot about the clinical requirements. i don't know what cclcm does, but stanford only requires 15.5 months of clinical time. this is awesome. you have a lot of extra time to do research, travel, do fun stuff, or do extra clinicals.
2. I think I heard that Case was the first in the country to do PBL. Again, not for everyone, but that was a real plus for me.
what does it matter to be the first? their version of pbl should stand on its own merits relative to other versions, whatever they might be.
3. Some of the best doctors in the country are at the Cleveland Clinic and they have been the top hospital for cardiology for five years. They are also in the top 5 in many other specialties. Having these physicians write your letters for residency will no doubt have a lot of pull.
I don't need to write that stanford also has top doctors and hospitals, so i won't.
4. Students at CCLCM seem to get much more clinical exposure from year one than other schools.
i don't recall what stanford does in relation to this. i do think (again, as informed by the perspective of med students here and elsewhere) that the importance of clinical exposure as a first-year is more important to pre-meds than med students. what do you expect to do as a first-year med student on a team of attendings, residents, ms3/4s, nurses, and techs? taking a blood pressure and talking to a pt is something, but it's stuff i and others did as a pre-med. i know stanford does run one or two free clinics (predominantly, i *think* one is for a spanish-speaking population and one is for an asian population (both populations are not as available in cleveland, a strike against cclcm for many)), and ms1s are able to participate in them.
5. Financial aid at the Clinic is very generous. Everyone seems to get some form of grant and there are several that get full scholarships. I've also heard that the goal is to make the school tuition free.
financial aid is also generous at stanford (lowest student debt for a private med school outside of the free military school, or so i've read). with stanford offering merit aid now on top of their generous need-based aid and r.a./t.a. pay, a number of people will essentially be getting free rides.
