No worries, I'm happy to help. I could probably write a short book on this but I'll try to limit it to a few medium-sized wall of text...
1. Organization: you meet with 4-7 other students and a professor 3x3hrs/week (usually MWF 8AM-11AM). For CRR (first unit) you do about 1 case/week. For each case you get a "patient" with pre-written symptoms, labs, imaging, etc loaded onto the computer. You get a patient age, setting (family office, ER, etc) and chief complaint (vomiting, chest pain) to start the case and have to come in on Monday with a list of differential diagnoses. You explain why it could be XYZ, what tests you'd run to figure it out, etc. Then you take a history on the patient by asking questions on the computer. The patient will give you answers as if they were a real patient. It's quite accurate actually, I've heard things from real patients this year and been like "wow, that sounds exactly like one of our cases." From here you narrow down your Ddx list, and figure out what you need to go learn more about before you run labs (if it sounds like an MI, learn about heart anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, cardiac markers... if it's a PFO learn about heart embryology, shunting, cyanosis, normal blood gases, etc). Then you come back and discuss the learning issues with the group and the professor basically fact-checks you (some do this more than others) to make sure you know the material well. At the end of the case you read a progress report and see how the doctors actually treated the patient. You'll have a few lectures during the week to reinforce things that will be tested at the end of the unit.
Pros: it's conversational. You're not sitting in boring lectures all day. Very active learning. You get to know each other really well. The professors also get to know you really well and like hanging out with the group. You also learn to integrate the information as you would in real life instead of doing one subject at a time. You get to be a pro at taking histories and working out differentials. It usually takes 2-3 hours to do your first history of the year. Our last one of the year took ~20 minutes. You know what to look for and what to ask, and it helps in the clinic when you're seeing real patients. As far as information, we have competitive Step 1 scores compared to other schools. You learn the information required to be successful.
Cons: it's less structured. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. You're going to feel lost at the beginning of the year. They don't spell things out for you right away, you have to learn how to learn on your own. It's daunting, but once you get good at it it's not too bad. You get a set of online self-assessment questions (an un-graded quiz) at the end of each case to keep you on track of what you should know. A lot of these topics are tested on during the unit exams. That said, sometimes it can be frustrating not knowing what you should or shouldn't spend time on, or how deep you should go into a topic. Studying with other group members really helps with this, and by the end of CRR most people have found their stride. You also have more free time some weeks than others, so there's plenty of time to get extra hours in at the hospital/clinic or the anatomy/histology lab.
2. Yes, immediately. You see your first standardized patient during week 1 or 2. You won't really know what you're doing and you'll feel like you shouldn't be in your white coat seeing patients yet... because you don't know anything. The first time you have to do a physical will be equally horrifying, and you'll probably do something silly or stupid... and that's okay. You learn in small pieces and get more efficient and confident each time. Eventually they do clinical exams where you have to do timed histories and physicals, then go "run labs" on a computer and figure out what the patient has (also timed). You write up your DXJ (diagnosis justification) and are graded on how well you performed in the clinic and in your DXJ. By the end of the year you will be able to do a full history in about 12 minutes, and a full physical in about 30 minutes. You also have to do a history and physical on at least 3 real patients (at your mentor's office or hospital) throughout the year and then write up your findings. I loved my clinical medicine experience during M1, and the clinical staff are fantastic.
3. Depends on who you are. Some people are high-strung and go full-throttle all year, but most don't. Most people are stressed during CRR because they're not confident, but after passing that unit people start to ease up a bit. We had IM teams in men's and corec basketball, soccer and softball and actually almost won a few of the tournaments. A decent chunk of our class isn't really the party type, but there are plenty of people to go the bars and have fun with if you're up for it (you'll probably have time to go out ~1-2 times/week depending on how badly you want to go out and how close exams are).
The professors generally love their groups. Some will take you out to lunch, bring in home-made food for you during group or meet up with you for a drink after exams. Each has a different teaching style, but they are all engaged when you're talking in group and will make sure you leave with the right information in your brains (or at least in your notes). Obviously not everyone will mesh with their prof, but generally the prof will push you to the level you need to be at for the exams and you will respect them for getting you there.
4. There are research opportunities during the summer. Most don't do research during M1 but you can if you want to. We have students right now in Carbondale, Springfield, California, Peoria and elsewhere doing research under MPEE and CARE (the two research programs offered during M1 summer). We're competitive for residency. Everyone from the Class of 2014 matched in a variety of fields. There are also a lot of research opportunities in Springfield in pretty much every field.
5. Most people rent apartments. Some get trailers, some rent houses, depends on what you're looking for. There are plenty of affordable options in the area, most fall within the $300-500/month range.
I know that was long but hopefully you find it helpful. Feel free to reply or PM if you have any other questions!
