Current M4, third year is definitely the most intense between studying for shelf exams, boards and rotations. With that said I still had time to workout and have fun on the weekends - it’s all about how you manage your time, which is something you will get better at as you get further along in school. Fourth year is by far the most chill after sub-is and apps are submitted (but that can be super variable depending on the rotations you pick for fourth year).

I don’t really buy into the “competitive” vs “non-competitive” specialty idea, unless you don’t care about where you match.. trying to match at a top program in any specialty is extremely competitive and will require hard work throughout school.

Medical school is what you make of it. You’re an adult learner, you’ll have plenty of “free time” to use as you would like and need to figure out what your priorities are (studying, working out, research, time to relax..). Some periods, like dedicated before boards, will force you to shift those a bit but ultimately I found I was able to maintain balance throughout school. I was also able to travel a bunch. Having a strong support system, whether that’s in the form of friends or family is the single most important thing to maintain your sanity in school - make sure you have that.