Hi!
Ha, don't apologise about the questions, I'm always more than happy to help whenever I can
I'm going to caveat everything I say with a "this will likely change as almost all universities pivot to more online-based lectures/tutorials in the short term future". So my answers below are what you might normally expect to happen in the absence of a global pandemic
Also, since I finished, they've introduced a "New Academic Teaching Year" to switch from 3 semesters to 2, and have 2 main examination periods instead of 1.
Assessment-wise (ICA's), it varies between years. There are a whole variety; some essays, some individual presentations, some group presentations, some lab reports, some data interpretation/analysis, some poster presentations, etc (ie: quite a variety!). You'll tend to get 2 ICA's per module (different types each time, so one might be an essay and the other a presentation), and it used to be that you'd expect around 4-5 ICA's between October and January, for example. 2nd year tended to have more ICA's in semester 2, but that's probably changed.
I'm not prepared to go into the specifics about the content of the ICA's, but I think the key thing to take away is: don't worry. Everyone starts at the same point and usually there isn't a problem getting the hang of it. I noticed that they've really been improving the marking and feedback as I went through the course, and everything is (as you'd expect) moderated.
I commuted so my work-life balance wasn't great at times, but biomed tends to be seen as one of the more intense courses (and I'd argue, rightfully so). It's not 9-5 every day, and you will have plenty of time in-between lectures (although you'll quickly learn to use this to catch up with notes/work on coursework). In 3rd year with the dissertation the work-life balance does change quite a bit as you're attached (for most people) to a research lab and will be working on
your experiments. For that, you can expect to be there all day monday-friday often from 9-5 (or even a bit beyond), but it's actually a lot of fun and many people's highlight of the course. Also, student support is excellent. The med school has its own welfare and careers team separate from main campus so the waiting times are far less. They're wonderful people and have been very helpful to myself and many of my friends over the years.
I can't speak for accommodation with any great authority, but I hear Pritchatts Park is quite nice (and incredibly close to the med school!). Uni accommodation tends to be very safe. You'll hear reports from private-rented accommodation in Selly Oak/Harborne of people being broken into, but it's not bad for a city area and with such a large student population, the chances are incredibly low but social media tends to amplify the small number of people that it does happen to. Moral of the story: you'll be absolutely fine!
^ Hope that helps!
Best wishes,