What is the best place for housing as an M1? Which area is as close to the school as possible while also being very nice and having good amenities? Would you say a car is necessary? Finally, how do you like the school overall?
The best place for housing as an M1 is whatever fits your needs, preferences, and budget. Based on my experience I will say most students live in handful of places located in Ghent or Downtown Norfolk. Ghent is a closer to school but Downtown Norfolk is a 15 minute walk to campus(depending on where downtown) or a 5 minute car ride. Downtown Norfolk is more expensive but is located downtown which has lots of coffee shops, foods, things to do. Here are a few places that people live. I can't speak on behalf of all these places, just that fellow students live at these places.
1) 201 Twenty One (
201 Twenty One | Welcome to 201 Twenty One Apartments)
2) Belmont at Freemason(
Belmont at Freemason | Apartments in Downtown Norfolk, VA)
3)Hague Park Apartments(
City Living with a view)
4) Alexander at Ghent(
Alexander Apartments | Home)
5) Rent Miscellaneous apartments in the Ghent area closer to EVMS campus
Disclaimer: I would always ask for EVMS student discounts AND this is not an all inclusive list, this is just a few off the top of my head. I can speak to where I live if anyone wants to message me privately, but regarding "which area is as close to school as possible while also being very nice and having good amenities" is a tough question. A car is not absolutely necessary and if it is a financial burden then you don't need it, I would just try to live in an apartment in the Ghent area/close to campus. A few of my colleagues live in that area and have a 5 minute walk to and from campus everyday. But like always having a car is nice especially because it does rain frequently in Norfolk, and being able to travel and explore Norfolk, and the surround cities is nice as well. I would just sit down google Norfolk, VA apartments and look in and around the Ghent/Downtown area, ask for discounts, get prices, and do virtual tours if you are not in the area. Then make a pro/con list and make a decision from there based off works best for you. You can always talk to incoming students and rent a four bedroom house. That is an option as well.
Overall, EVMS is a solid MD program and I am happy to be here. We are by no means John Hopkins, Harvard, UCSF of the medical school world, but routinely have a respectable match list and support system at the school to help you. We are not a research powerhouse, so if you are looking to match a super top tier residency program, that will definitely be more challenging at EVMS, but not impossible. With that being said, we still have plenty of research opportunities available in all fields of interest. Amongst other resources, we have a wonderful academic development team that will meet with you regularly to help you succeed. I started school during the pandemic, and given that chaotic situation, I feel like EVMS did an excellent job in my preclinical years organizing and preparing a curriculum that allowed me to be successful and safe. A few other miscellaneous things, I love the schools commitment to community service and our exam questions are retired NBME exam questions which I felt helped prepare me for step, and made our exams more doable during the first two years. Sorry for the longer response, but if anyone has additional questions please feel free to ask me! I hope this helps
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