I can only comment on UofL and Nova. I absolutely loved UofL and it was a difficult decision between them and the school I'll be attending. Everyone there was extremely friendly and the school was awesome. The city itself has a lot to offer but like an other big city, there are some sketchy parts of town even though the school is in a safe place. As for volunteering and shadowing hours you don't need anything extradordinary. I had about 80 shadowing hours and got an acceptance (although it will never hurt you to have more). For UofL once you get an interview it comes down to the interview day. After that, they seem to be focused on your personality and how well you interview. As for Nova, I liked the school and everyone seemed nice but I'm from Florida so I figured if I'd be paying that tuition I'd rather go out of state and experience something new, amongst other things I've heard about the school. Nova is located in a pretty small city right outside Ft. Lauderdale so its pretty safe, from what I've heard, but close to a lot of fun things for when you have some down time. PM me if you have any other questions 🙂