My impression, having interviewed at VCU/MCV, was that they really focus on "the total package" and put greater weight on life experiences and other harder-to-quantify factors. Yeah, most medical schools SAY they do the same, but I truly think VCU/MCV considers candidates "beyond then numbers" a bit more seriously than many other schools. Just my 2 cents.
As for the quality of life deal...
I dunno if I buy the previous poster's logic, but everyone gets different vibes from places they visit/live. I have spent time in C-ville and Richmond, and it is certainly true there are big differences between the two -- broadly speaking, C-ville is a bucolic college town and Richmond is a "real city". I, personally, don't care for Norfolk, but if you gotta be very close to the beach, it at least has that angle.
Norfolk and Richmond are both sizable metro areas w/ a big city feel downtown (including gritty, poverty-stricken areas) and sprawling, 'burbs-galore outside. Richmond does have a Confederate past that creeps on to this day, but it is not a faction that necessarily dominates one's experience there. Anyway, not an apologist for Richmond, or a member of the tourist board, just my 2 cents...