Oh, I absolutely had more time first year and WAY more time 2nd year then I ever did in undergrad.*
*Disclaimer: In undergrad I had a full time job, a part time job, 16 hours of classes a term (double degree), was a TA, an adviser, an active member of a sorority, did a ton of volunteer work, and had an active social life on the side....So, yeah, med school...takes up a little less time and energy then...well, that.
Med school is manageable. Honest. The hardest part is figuring out what works for you. ESPEICALLY if you're someone who never had to study before.
I'm not going to say I condone skipping class to study....especially since my school has an attendance policy...but um...er...I'm just going to stop there.
One thing that REALLY pissed me off that my school did was at orientation someone came to talk to us and informed us that there was not enough time in the day to exist, something about "you need 25 hours in a day to be able to eat/sleep/study/go to class. so you figure out where those hours have to come from" It was not only unnecessary, but untrue.
I will say this: after your first year you'll be floored at what you know. It's pretty striking.
Now sure, right before an exam the words "OH MY GOD IF I JUST HAD 2 MORE DAYS" normally come (loudly) out of my mouth, but really? It's fine.
I have a life, I'm an average student, I travel whenever I can, I study...quite a bit, but probably not as WELL as some of my class mates (really, I have to do something multiple times before it sticks). I don't hate my life and I don't lament my work load. Well, this week I do, but it's board study and I'm studying for about 11 hours a day (WAY more then I did during school) so it's understandable.
To all you premeds in this thread, good luck.