For the current students: What makes UVA special? Are there any unique features about the school that are not discussed on the website?
UVA is great for a number of reasons. The pass/fail pre-clinical is great, and since everyone is so intelligent and driven, it seems like a really collaborative space instead of just being cutthroat. Even the new medical education building is designed with collaboration in mind, having round tables that seat ~10 and projectors that line the room. There's also a traditional lecture hall where you have about half of your classes too though. Almost all classes are recorded so you can podcast them at a higher speed from home, but some classes are required like weekly patient presentations, TBLs (which are a great way of learning, but rather tedious and team-based), and anatomy labs. Some classes will have graded in class assignments though that you don't have to do, but that are certainly a good idea. We have CPD once a week, which is mentoring with a physician and non physician in 6-person groups, and consists largely of cases, clinical skills practice, and patient interviews in the hospital. There's a decent amount of research here, and about half of the students do a funded summer research project called MMSRP, but last year there was kind of a shortage of spots so I would recommend trying to find a project early. We have a good reputation, and it's pretty easy to do away rotations here, which is great for residency, and the shortened pre-clinical curriculum means that you finish all of your required rotations before having to apply for residencies. It also means you have more free time and an easier time scheduling interviews in fourth year.
As for UVA in general, Charlottesville is small, but has a decent bar/restaurant scene. There's a big Greek presence that you'll see but won't be a part of as a medical student. Athletics are big here, and all of our teams are good except for football. Charlottesville is near the Shanendoas, so if hiking is your thing, you'll love it. Overall, I really just love the people here, and the experience makes me feel like I'll actually maintain my sanity/personality through medical school. Hope this helps.
