I found this post from the first page:
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So med masters students are competing against each other? Is this right?
So I've got a few things to add to Immuno's post. First, I wouldn't take things from 2 years ago and apply them strictly today. While the general idea of the program (work hard and you'll get in) remains the same, the details of how they accept people changes quite a bit year to year.
We hear different things about if we're on a different waitlist from everyone else, but I can say unequivocally that the med masters
do not compete against each other. There are a few reasons this is true. First, we are graded against the M1 class average, not a separate med master average or whatever. So if the entire med masters class is above 1.1 standard deviations above the M1 mean, the entire med masters class will get honors for that course. Like Immuno said, it really depends on how hard you're willing to work to get the grades. There's really no excuse not to get Honors or High Pass in at least a few of your classes, since we have a lighter workload than the M1s.
Second, and more importantly, there is no maximum number of med masters that they will accept into next years M1 class. The line is often said (by students and faculty alike), but it bears repeating - "a spot is waiting for your in next year's MD program, and it is only yours to lose". If the entire class does well enough, they will let everyone in.
As for the waitlist for next year's med masters, I still maintain that they likely waitlist everyone (we haven't had a single SDNer say they were rejected immediately), but who knows. Someone should ask Leah and see what she says.