I am not who you originally quoted, but I am a current MABS student and figured I could help answer your questions.
1. I would say that even if you have familiarity or have taken the courses in undergrad, overall the program is pretty rigorous. Courses tend to progress quickly and last semester our first exam was on Monday of the second week of the program. The problem for some classes is not that they are necessarily difficult, but rather that they progress is a much quicker manner than undergrad ever did, and getting over the learning hurtle of trying to study effectively in the least time possible so you can ensure you are understanding the material is the hardest part. That being said, you are guaranteed to have at least one exam per week pretty much throughout the entire program, with some weeks having 2 or 3 exams per week. Unless they change the schedule up, fully expect the last 3-4 weeks of your fall semester to have 3 exams per week. The nice thing is that they do not make you come to class the day before an exam.
2. Personally I do believe the staff here want to help and are very considerate of the students struggles. The professors who teach us also teach the medical students, so they do have commitments at the Big House also, but they are all very willing to meet with students between lectures, after class, or whenever they are available to provide additional clarification on concepts that you may be struggling to grasp fully. Typically the trend appears to be that ~50% of the students meet the fall benchmarks in December, so it is very feasible to do, and if you are struggling in a class do not hesitate to speak to the professor. You can definitely tell that they care about us.
3. Aside from the first few weeks of the program where they may only have you coming to class ~3 days a week, the typical schedule is 4-5 days/week of classes, with many of the days ending around noon. The start of the semester is slower paced to try and get students adjusted, but picks up quickly. After about the first month to month and a half classes will be at the 4-5 days/week, but may still end at noon with an occasional day going until 3 or 5pm. Closer to the very end, there may be more days where you are there after lunch between the 3-5pm hours (typically done by 4pm).
4. There is no curve grading for the MABS program, but that does not mean that the classes are any harder. From what I understand with TouroCOM's program, there are a finite number of slots for their med school, but more masters students so people compete. With MABS, if there are 130 people in your class, if everyone meets benchmarks all 130 will be getting accepted. Even without the curve, the classes are doable and the grade you receive is the grade you get. They give exam reviews after exams which are meant for students to see what they got wrong and ask for clarification on a problem and answer choice. Occasionally during these reviews the professors will realize that they put the wrong answer, or had multiple answers that could be correct and will give points back.
Additional info:
I really feel this program has been doing a great job of teaching me material that I may not have known previously, or did not understand incredibly well. It is faster paced than undergrad, and has helped me to get back into the groove of school much better than had I simply applied to medical school straight from undergrad (I was non-traditional). This program is one that will enlighten many students who maybe did well in undergrad, but would have failed med school due to the pacing and amount of information that is thrown at them. I am very thankful that I did this program first even though after I took my MCAT, I could have applied straight to med school because it has helped improve and change my study habits immensely. I will be attending VCOM Auburn this fall unless I get an acceptance elsewhere that is better suited for me due to proximity to family/loved ones.
