Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Most preclinical lectures are recorded and optional, and the Brody student interviewed says most classmates watch them at 2x. First and second year include weekly problem-based learning on clinical cases, and second year adds sessions practicing exams in clinical or simulated settings.

According to the student, preclinical courses moved to pass/fail in 2022, while clerkships stayed graded, with shelf exam performance and evaluations both counting.

Nearly all core rotations happen at ECU Health Medical Center and ECU clinics in Greenville, so students don’t scatter across the region. The student describes it as the major hospital for that part of the state, with very sick, high-risk patients and unusual pathology.

The school building connects to the hospital by a hallway. A $265 million construction project is underway to expand medical education.

Brody enrolled 96 students in the Class of 2030, its largest class yet. The student says a class that size means you can recognize everyone, and the culture errs on the collaborative side.

Each year, second-years cover the sidewalk outside the school in chalk messages of encouragement the night before the first-years’ first exam.

Greenville is a college town centered on the university and the hospital. You have to hunt for your kind of fun, but there are breweries, cafes, River Park North, and kayaking on the Tar River. Raleigh is about 1.25 hours away and the beach about 1.75.

Rent is very low, and the Brody Scholars Program covers full tuition and fees, plus most living expenses, for four years.