Table 1. Medical school characteristics.

Med School	VUmc	AMC	UMCG
Focus of the curriculum	Theme-based	Theme-based	Problem-based
Selection procedure	Selection procedure A22 Two phases: 1) Portfolio including previous academic records and extracurricular activities. 2) Lectures followed by assessment of academic skills, measured with tests about medical subjects and study skills.	Selection procedure B23 Two phases: 1) Cognitive tests and portfolio including previous academic records and extracurricular activities. 2) Lecture followed by an academic test and three-station MMI (Year-1) or interview (Year-4).	Selection procedure C24 Two phases: 1) Portfolio (comprising sections on pre-university education, extracurricular activities, and reflection) and academic and non-academic tests. 2) Patient lecture followed by assignments (related to the lecture, writing an essay, and scientific reasoning) and a four-station MMI assessing communication skills, collaboration skills and reflection.
Student intake and places assigned through selection	Year-1: 60% of 350 places Year-4: 50% of 350 places	Year-1: 75% of 350 places Year-4: 50% of 350 places	Year-1: 100% of 410 places Year-4: 50% of 410 places
Geographical location	In the capital city (Amsterdam)	In the capital city (Amsterdam)	In a smaller city in the North of the country