Advice for a First-Year Manchester Medic

Hello,

I hope to begin Medicine at the University of Manchester this September, and would appreciate advice from anyone who has recently (i.e. in the last five years) completed their first year in Medicine here. In particular, I would like advice about: which textbooks you could recommend for first year studies; how you know what to do in-depth reading on, and how 'deep' to go into topics; and finally, whether you could give any general advice about studying for exams and passing very safely. If anyone could outline an average weekly timetable for their first year, that would be superb. Are activities, e.g. PBL sessions and lectures, usually within a 9am-5pm Monday-Friday time scale? Additionally, how much 'extra' work is set, and of what nature is it (for instance, a paper about a certain disease, or preparatory reading for a PBL session)? Finally, how would you describe the exam questions/style, e.g. is there any resemblance to A-Level style papers, are they multiple choice or essay-style answers, etc.? Any other information would be very welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to help me.