I’m just a fellow applicant but also very interested in ortho. I know you should take match lists with a grain of salt, but GW seemed to punch above their weight (with respect to “rankings”) with ortho matches this year. They also had very strong neurosurg, plastics, vascular, and ENT, as well. UVA also had a fantastic list, but I was surprised to see they both had similarities despite the difference in rank.
If you compare their home programs, UVA is ranked much higher in ortho than GW, which is an important consideration. But both have strong home programs that pump out research so as a med student it shouldn’t be too different.
With respect to location, I love both DC and Charlottesville for different reasons. The outdoor access at Charlottesville is awesome and is why it’s my favorite of the two (fishing, hunting, biking, trail running, etc), but DC is one of the best cities to live in while you’re younger imo. It also offers unparalleled access to health policy makers.
Not sure any of this helps but based on their matches, home programs, etc I would choose whichever one you’d be happiest, which sounds like GW based on your interests! I don’t think you would be at a disadvantage by going to GW over UVA, at some point the difference in matches rests on the actual applicant and not their school. Full disclaimer I’m on the WL for GW and was rejected from UVA.