My school is systems-based, with mostly traditional lecture (which is recorded). We have a few mandatory small group and clinical things, but for the most part M1 and M2 attendance in class itself is voluntary. It differs from undergrad if you're used to mandatory attendance. A lot of the pace of learning in medical school is up to you, as long as you're on point when exam time comes around. But nobody holds your hand. For some people used to more direction, this is hard.
Fall and spring semester, but each class block is its own entity with its own exams and a final for that block. Some are longer than others. Usually 4-8 weeks per block, depending. Fall semester had 3 blocks, spring had 4.
I wouldn't say they're equally difficult, no. Some have definitely been harder. I also find it tougher in blocks that go 4 weeks without an exam than blocks that go 2-3. A month of material to retain with 3-5 lectures a day is more than it sounds like. Step 1 sounds like so much fun
I typically go to class, so I'm in school from 9am to 12 or 1, then come home, give myself a midday break, start studying again til dinner, then 1-2 hours after. I always stop by 8/9pm, as I don't like to study and go straight to bed. I need unwind time. Then I study on weekends depending how much I need to do. So I'd say, outside of lecture time I probably spend 4-5 hours on weeknights. On weekends it really depends.
Some weeks are absolutely more flexible, for me. Since a lot of my studying is going back over old material, the first week after an exam or after the start of a new block is the week with the least amount to review each day. And some weeks are just lighter than others, as that's how the material falls. Last block I had one entire weekend that I just took off, because I was well caught up and could afford the time. That's not typical, but it happens. We'll see how M2 is