University of Virginia

The pros of my graduate program is that it has great faculty who pay attention to you and are always willing to help you out. It is also very technologically current. All lectures are recorded and uploaded online, and the students collaborate on notes using a Google doc. The social life is amazing and the surrounding town is full of bars and small restaurants and other great locations for socializing. Honestly, I cannot think of any cons unless you are someone who is used to living in a large city... Read More and have a hard time adjusting to a small town. Other than that, it is an amazing place to attain a graduate education!

The BIMS program utilizes the umbrella program to include a diverse field of medical sciences and provide education about all of these fields to each incoming class. All PhD students enroll in a "Core Course" which runs from 9AM-4PM each day for 10 weeks, in which we learn about all relevant medical research disciplines: cancer, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, neurobiology, developmental biology, etc. It serves as a great foundation to start your research lab work. The faculty are so willing... Read More to help and care about teaching, as opposed to just doing research, which is very refreshing at a large research institution.

UVA is very humane in its treatment of its medical students-- medical students are generally unhappy and less stressed than those in other places. Professors are brilliant and tend to be nice (every school has a few malignant apples). The NexGen curriculum got off to a shaky start but seems to get better with each year. The med school and hospital are adjacent to the undergrad campus which make you genuinely feel like a part of Mr. Jefferson's university. It also makes collaboration with people from... Read More other specialties and school easier. The global health program is always improving and innovating-- at least a quarter of fourth year students are doing some sort of away and getting financial support for it. The spirit of community service, on the whole, is strong as is the collegiality.

Best parts: -Social life is amazing- so much to do in CVille! -Class time is only 8:10am-12pm every day! -Accelerated program: Only 1.5 years in the classroom before moving on to clerkships. This means an extra 6 months of electives! -Students are encouraged to work together, share resources, collaborate... and having a TRUE Pass-Fail curriculum allows us to do just that! We have googledocs created just to share ideas, mnemonics, study guides, helpful links, etc and work together on learning objectives.... Read More -PASS FAIL -4 years on the "Next Gen Curriculum" so it is one of the few programs in which the systems-based-curriculum is running smoothly -Lots of patient contact from week one, plenty of standardized patients for practice -We have an amazing class every year that lives the work hard, play harder motto -You can take your exams any time Friday-Sunday, allowing for flexibility in schedule and learning style.

My graduate school program is great! The professors are go the extra mile to help you with school related concerns or personal matters. The technology is mind-blowing and we have access to so many resources. The curriculum is very interactive and worth every penny. The administration is very receptive to students adn act quickly on demands or suggestions. Our word as students really count and make a difference. They financial aid office is very helpful and hold sessions throughout the year, which... Read More are very informative on real life economics. Overall, the atmosphere is incredible and the amazing type of people that are here, you will not find anywhere else. Lastly, all students are truly happy.