The 6 Best Medical Schools in Virginia

Best Medical Schools in Virginia: Medical schools tend to be the most elite and challenging types of colleges, and for good reason, as anyone who has completed a pre-med course will attest. Every day, doctors have to make important choices, and the research they conduct helps people all across the world. Schools only allow the very best students to enroll in their programs.

Virginia has some of the best medical schools in the nation. It is one of the oldest states in the union and was the location of many of the first universities in the country. Students from all over the world flock to the Old Dominion state to take advantage of its medical schools, history, and moderate environment. There is a medical school in Virginia for every aspiring doctor, including religious universities, elite private schools, and tier-one research institutions.

What are the top schools, though? Here is a list of the best medical schools in Virginia based on student achievements, faculty contributions, partner organizations, and the U.S. News & World Report ranking of medical schools.

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Best Medical Schools in Virginia

6. The Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Lynchburg, VA)

Since its establishment in 2014, LUCOM has made a name for itself as the top institution for studying medicine in a Christian setting. With 610 students enrolled in 2020, LUCOM is located on the Liberty University campus in Lynchburg and places a strong emphasis on humanitarianism and a Christian worldview.

The institution demands a 3.0 GPA and a 501 MCAT score, with an extremely competitive 4.2% admittance rate. Yet, those who are accepted receive top-notch training, which includes chances for third- and fourth-year students to do daily rotations in associate clinics. Moreover, LUCOM was a founding member of the primary care clinic Liberty Mountain Medical Group LLC in Lynchburg.

Together with its resources, LUCOM takes pleasure in having a faculty that is committed to conducting clinical research. The American Journal of Physiology, The American Journal of Gastroenterology, and The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association have all published works with help from LUCOM academics in recent years. As fellows in the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a distinguished fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, current interim dean Joseph R. Johnson and assistant dean Carl R. Hoegerl both maintain active memberships in their respective professional organizations.

LUCOM is a fantastic option for students wishing to pursue their studies in a Christian setting because of its track record of placing student-doctors into residency programs.

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5. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Blacksburg, VA)

VCOM-Virginia may be the best institution for prospective doctors from rural locations in Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. VCOM, a network of five institutions with its flagship campus located at Virginia Tech, actively seeks applicants from these regions as part of its greater mission to boost the number of doctors in Appalachia. Along with offering primary care and preventative medicine, the school collaborates with free clinics in those states to give students practical training. The 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Insight into Diversity award has been given to VCOM-Virginia for its dedication to assisting underrepresented groups.

Only 8% of applicants are accepted by VCOM-Virginia, and they consider an MCAT score of 500 to be competitive. They also examine “GPA and other personal traits,” nevertheless. The newly-launched Center for Bioinformatics and Genetics and the Primary Care Research Network at VCOM-Virginia, which is ranked 94–122 nationally by U.S. News & World Report, focus on bioinformatics and primary care.

The 138 full-time faculty members of VCOM-Virginia are proud of their 0.1:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Yet, the staff is still dedicated to research and has written for publications in journals including the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Applied Neuropsychology: Child, and Journal of Food Nutrition and Metabolism.

4. Eastern Virginia Medical School (Norfolk, VA)

EVMS is ranked #49 in primary care, even though it shares the top spot with VCOM in the national rankings of the best medical schools for research. In-vitro fertilization was first used to create a viable fetus at EVMS, making it a pioneer in the field of reproductive medicine.

The Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning, the Jones Institute for Reproductive Center, and the M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health are just a few of the specialty centers available to students at EVMS.

EVMS values community interaction as much as it appreciates research. As part of their “Coats for Kids” project, EVMS students have been collecting and distributing coats for disadvantaged kids in Norfolk since 1987. Every Halloween, EVMS students host an event for neighborhood kids called “Haunted Hallway,” which turns school buildings eerie.

EVMS has strict entrance requirements given its strong credentials. Students have an average GPA of 3.54 and MCAT scores that are 511.7 on average, and only 13% of applicants receive admission offers. Yet graduates join a distinguished alumni group that includes Yvonne Cagle, an astronaut, and Dr. Maria C. Gillam-Krakauer, a pediatric researcher.

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3. Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (Roanoke, VA)

2018 saw the official incorporation of the medical school founded by the Carilion Clinic into Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University after functioning as a private institution for ten years. VTCSM is currently ranked 81st in the nation for research by US News & World Report.

The institution takes pride in its commitment to educating the community while aiming to “transfer research from the bench to the bedside.” VTCSM only accepts 8.1% of applicants because they value small class sizes. The average GPA and MCAT for the class of 2024 were 3.6 and 513, respectively.

Although it promotes community involvement, the school does not distinguish between service and research. A $1000 annual stipend for research materials is given to each student in the second through fourth years. Across these years, students conduct 14 weeks of R&D using these technologies. Students’ outstanding innovations as a result of this emphasis on study include current discoveries into cellulitis and brain growth.

These accomplishments are a result of the 27 faculty-led research teams that VTCSM students join following their first year of study.

2. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (Richmond, VA)

The largest and oldest medical school in Virginia is the VCU School of Medicine. VCUSM has a long history of producing renowned alumni, such as virologist Jeffrey Taubenberger, Nobel laureate Baruj Benacerraf, and “Patch” Adams, the eccentric doctor depicted by Robin Williams in movies.

Despite having such a distinguished history, VCUSM continues to grow. The school has a U.S. News & World Report ranking of #68 among the top medical schools for research and #49 in primary care thanks to its dedication to both teaching and research.

Naturally, the VCU School of Medicine expects nothing less from those who apply. Only 4.5% of candidates are accepted due to their average MCAT score of 512 and average GPA of 3.7.

However, those who are admitted to the VCU School of Medicine have the chance to work with a vibrant faculty, such as Gonzalo Bearman, the first editor-in-chief of the journal Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology published by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, or Dr. Georgia McIntosh, the 2020 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award winner.

The 367,000-square-foot Critical Care Hospital at VCUSM, the McGuire VA Medical Center, and the Inova Fairfax Hospital in Northern Virginia are just a few of the training opportunities available to third- and fourth-year students at the university. Also, they could take part in the biomedical incubator and research in Richmond’s Virginia BioTechnology Research Park.

Future doctors would be interested to know that VCU has been named “the most bike-friendly university in Virginia” by the League of American Bicyclists if those credentials aren’t enough to persuade students.

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1. University of Virginia School of Medicine (Charlottesville, VA)

One of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the nation, UVA SoM is ranked sixth in the nation for primary care and 29th in the United States for research. Since Thomas Jefferson founded the school in 1819, it has employed a number of prominent academics, including Barry Marshall, Alfred G. Gilman, and Ferid Murad, who were all awarded Nobel Prizes.

The 500-bed UVA Hospital, which is widely regarded as the best in the state, is part of the University of Virginia Health System, with which UVA SoM is currently affiliated. The UVA School of Medicine offers a “Next Generation” curriculum that compresses first- and second-year instruction into 1.5 years, in contrast to other institutions that reserve clinical work for years three and four. This method enables medical students to start their rotations and gain practical experience as soon as possible.

Don’t be deceived by the 10.7% acceptance percentage at UVA SoM. Each year, they got more than 4800 applications for just 156 openings. The average GPA and MCAT score of those chosen are 3.84 and 517.58, respectively. The well regarded UVA Cancer Center, the Carter Immunology Center, and the Center for Brain Immunology & Gila are just a few of the many resources available to students once they have been accepted. For other people, UVA SoM’s Department of Perceptual Studies—one of the few academic organizations that does study into “supernatural phenomena”—is even more significant.

Guidelines for Virginia Medical Schools Admission

Virginia’s medical schools have competitive admissions standards, as seen by their acceptance rates, minimum GPA requirements, and MCAT requirements. Our best advice is to take a hard look at your academic standings and make sure that your test results and GPA (total and science) not only meet but exceed the minimum standards for the medical school. You can also work on extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and clinical experience.

For incoming medical students, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has compiled a list of fundamental skills. Pre-professional, thinking and reasoning, and scientific competencies are some of these basic competencies. Please take the time to carefully evaluate all of the AAMC core competencies and make sure that your application materials reflect the qualities that medical schools look for in qualified applicants.

Understanding the criteria used by each Virginia medical school for admission is also crucial when submitting an application. Selection criteria specify the specifics of how admissions committees will evaluate your application materials and the essential qualities they will seek in qualified applicants.

Academic records (such as total and scientific GPAs, MCAT scores, official transcripts), US residency/citizenship requirements, criminal and background checks, prerequisite undergraduate coursework, desirable attributes in a physician, and more are examples of selection variables.

Frequently Asked Questions

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