Yeah, my interviewer told me too that board scores were not significantly different. And I've heard the same thing at other schools I interviewed at which give you an option (or the opportunity to apply for PBL). Though my friends told me they felt the DPC kids were better prepared or more versed at the beginning of 3rd year. And with such a huge class size, I wonder if being in a smaller setting would be more beneficial in terms of mentorship or LORs (or do people only do LORs from 3rd/4th year??).
I'm torn a bit because I like the principles behind PBL, but it would require a lot of work and self-discipline (in the regards doing a lot of the leg work on your own and commitment to your group), and by the sounds of it from the interview day and students I know, the DPC students have a really rough start to the semester. On the other hand, med school in general is going to take a ton of self-discipline. In regards to LDB, I find lectures boring and often I go in and out of focus, and being in class all day would be a bit of a drag, but having a set outline, notes, and the ability to stream lectures is great. You also have the benefit of those you know ahead of you who have gone through it already and their advice. In my grad program, since some of our classes where in the med school's building, we got to use the streaming system, and it was great being able to sleep in an extra hour or two, watch whichever lecture I missed that day at my own pace (skip through the gibberish, pause to write more notes or replay parts back that seemed unclear at first), and have more independence in organizing my day and studying around my set bench lab time everyday.
So I see the benefits in both, and I usually find myself taking the more difficult path often (maybe I enjoy the punishment or the challenge). I often got more out of seminars and small groups, or working through problems in lab meetings and presenting and discussing papers, than just sitting in a lecture. I felt more productive of my actual "in-school" time. Personally, I need a balance between a set structure, and creating my own schedule. So, I don't know which way I'm leaning yet lol