well, cant really argue against everything that phremius said. I am currently a D1 and everything he has described is spot on.
I commute. There are pros and cons though. The pro is you will save a ton of money by not living in Manhattan. Everything else is a con. Takes you longer to get home, most of your friends will live next to school, you have to factor commuting when planning to go to social events and study time etc. Even though it is a hassle, it is still manageable. There are people from New Jersey, Long Island, Brooklyn etc, so you will not be alone.
As far as schedule, like phremius pointed out, most of the time you will be in the giant lecture hall for all didactic classes. Dental lab, the class is split into 2 sections. Anatomy lab the class is split into 4 sections and then each section is split into a further 4 groups so there are about 20 people in a room with specimens. The class size so far has not been an inconvenience. By the time you get to the end of the first semester/second semester, you will begin to think you are at Stony Brook because 50-75% wont show up unless it is mandatory.
Yes, most days is 8-5. Some days will have a 2 hour gap, and when you get to second semester, that becomes a 4 hour gap most often.