What was first year like...
It was OK. The Medicine SU are very welcoming when you begin, and put on loads of events. There is a myth that Imperial isn't very good for social life but that's all it is - a myth. Well, amongst the Medics anyway. You will probably meet people who are like-minded to you so student life is what you make of it, really. Plenty of planned events throughout the year though, and you can always plan your own events if you don't like the official ones!
In terms of work, it's not as easy as some people make it out to be tbh. At the same time, however, it's not as bad as others will make it out to be. You have lab reports that count towards your BSc mark in Year 4 (a very small contribution IIRC, but they still count nonetheless) and a few silly essays to do (not to mention the wretched PBL write up) so it can get quite hectic. I have heard that they are changing it a little to make it a bit less hectic for the current Year 1's, however, so it may well change for when you join!
In term 1, you have Molecules, Cells and Disease and most of that is just a bit of a recap to A-Level Biology with a bit more depth. It's not particularly interesting IMO, and not that fun to revise for but there we go. You also have society and health and epidemiology which you will almost certainly hate. Then you have Life Cycle and Regulatory Systems in terms 2 which, in year 1, is just a bit of endocrinology (which I promise you, you will love) and very basic neuroscience. You also start Life Cycle and Regulatory Systems which is very packed - cardiovascular system, respiratory system (which will make you go wtf), gastrointestinal and urinary (renal). You also have anatomy of thorax, abdomen and pelvis with dissection. Personally, I find dissection and anatomy very boring but there are others who love it.
You also have a bit of PBL. You will either love it or hate it. I loved it because our facilitator was very relaxed so our scheduled 3 hour sessions would finish in literally 10 minutes and we could go home and sleep.
You have some patient visits you have to make throughout the year to a patient's house just to have a chat with them about stuff. I enjoyed it but I don't think it really teaches you
that much. Some clinical communication sessions where they basically film you talking to a patient and you watch it back and they critique you, but it's only formative.
Pitfalls...I guess these would apply to any Medical School really but make sure you seriously keep on top of your work. You also only need 50% or so to pass and I don't think it's possible to go into any exam feeling as though you know all the content purely because of the sheer volume of it all.
Also, all the info I've given is true for when I was a first year - it may change for you guys. They're constantly asking for feedback to improve things (and they do listen).
Less than a week after IIRC.
Or a 3.