Hey, I'm a current OMS1. So there's basically two theories here...you can either have many tests with a smaller amount of information, that counts for less of your grade, or you can have a couple huge tests that have a (more) ridiculous amount of information. Personally, I like having many tests a week. It forces me to keep up with the material and I have a good schedule now, and if you bomb one test then you won't fail the class. You're in medical school: yes, life is a balance, but your life is medical school. You have two years to learn EVERYTHING about the human body. It's more intricate than you can possibly imagine right now. It's wonderful and I love it, but your days off are few and far between. I usually take off Friday night and Saturday morning, then I get back into studying. Having tests almost every Monday is very true (the academic calendar for all 3 campuses is on the website. I am in block 2 now so you can see I have a path exam tomorrow). The reason they do this is so that you have a lot of time to prepare the weekend before, and you aren't inhibited by your lectures from having the maximum amount of time to prepare. They aren't every single Monday, but sometimes it feels like it! The time for relaxation is during block breaks. Those with families learn their own schedule. For example, one of my friends stays until 6pm to study at school, goes home to spend time with the family and wife, and then stays up late after everyone is in bed to study more. Everyone has their own schedule, and you learn what works best for you. As you get further into medical school, you will be more efficient in your studying and your schedule will naturally change as you learn to balance better. Honestly, no matter what medical school you go to, you are all learning the same information and are being tested on the same amount. The bonus to the way our schedule is organized is that from blocks 2-7, you are repeating the information. So I'm in the musculoskeletal system now. I have anatomy, where I learn the cervical spine. Then I have OMM, where I learn techniques on the cervical spine, ect. The information is repeated in classes, so you see it more than once and studying for one class overlaps.
Please refer to my earlier post about COMLEX prep. As for rotation sites, since I'm a first year I don't know much about it. I looked into it after receiving the huge book from the interviews and it seems good to me. Spartanburg Regional is wonderful, and I know there are additional sites in other parts of SC, NC, VA, and AL. All of the hospitals checked out for me, but I suppose it depends what you're looking for. Personally, I just want a hospital where I can get a lot of hands on experience. I'm not much help here...I would contact admissions to find a contact in Clinical Affairs for you to talk to about this. I'm sorry!
