This is not something I know too much about, but I do not think most students just graduate in the fall quarter (that might not even exist as an option) and call it quits. What many do is not enroll as a full-time student during their last spring and instead travel, go home, etc.
It is possible to take off random quarters, but that would extend how long you are at Stanford. Spring quarter, year 2, otherwise known as Q6, is required since you have one class during part of that spring (otherwise it is just fulltime off for boards studying).
It is definitely manageable to graduate by paying for just 13 full quarters (which is a requirement to graduate). Most students reduce the price of those 13 quarters through Med Scholars (for a summer quarter plus 25-50% Med Scholars during their second year quarters). RAships are separate from the Med Scholars program. TAships are another option to lower the cost of attending Stanford Med. On average, Stanford is one of the cheapest private medical schools in the country (comparing average graduating debt to peer institutions).
Clinical clerkships are full-time commitments (don't think about doing TAships or Med Scholars during them). The flexibility comes in terms of scheduling different rotations.
The preclinical curriculum flexibility is as advertised. In addition to core med school classes, you can TA, do research, take electives, go work with a startup, etc.
and to all the accepted people, congrats but give Harvard or Yale second look a chance this coming weekend (they are really not that bad!).
