USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Virginia

Virginia's four MD schools are all public and its two DO colleges private (school list). The University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville (1825) and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond (1838) are the oldest; Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, whose charter class entered in August 2010, is the newest (Virginia Tech Carilion).

In-state shares vary: 63% of the 2025-26 entering class at Virginia Commonwealth University came from Virginia, 51.9% at the University of Virginia, 50.3% at Eastern Virginia Medical School and 21.8% at Virginia Tech Carilion (AAMC FACTS).

Medical schools in Virginia

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: University of Virginia School of Medicine also lists Falls Church, Virginia (shared with VCU); Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine also lists Falls Church, Virginia (shared with UVA).

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Virginia by city

• Norfolk: Sentara Norfolk General Hospital; Bon Secours Depaul Medical Center; Sentara Leigh Hospital; Childrens Hospital of the Kings Daughters
• Richmond: VCU Health System MCV Hospital; St. Marys Hospital; CJW Medical Center
• Virginia Beach: Sentara VA. Beach General Hospital; Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
• Norton: Norton Community Hospital INC.
• Winchester: Winchester Medical Center
• Charlottesville: University of Virginia Medical Center
• Portsmouth: Maryview Hospital
• Lynchburg: Centra Health
• Fredericksburg: Mary Washington Hospital
• Roanoke: Carilion Medical Center
• Front Royal: Warren Memorial Hospital
• Christiansburg: Carilion New River Valley Med Center
• Leesburg: Inova Loudoun Hospital Center
• Suffolk: Sentara Obici Hospital
• Salem: Lewis Gale Medical Center
• Arlington: Virginia Hospital Center Arlington
• Newport News: Riverside Regional Medical Center
• Abingdon: Johnston Memorial Hospital
• Falls Church: Inova Fairfax Hospital
• Mechanicsville: Memorial Regional Medical Center
• Danville: Danville Regional Medical Center
• Blacksburg: Lewisgale Hospital - Montgomery
• Big Stone Gap: Lonesome Pine Hospital
• Low Moor: Lewisgalehospital - Alleghany
• Midlothian: St. Francis Medical Center

Facts about Virginia

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine's charter class entered in August 2010; the class began at 42 students a year and rose to 49 with the Class of 2024, and the school became Virginia Tech's ninth college on July 1, 2018. (Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine)
• Virginia Tech Carilion students train at Carilion Clinic, which the school says has over 750 physicians in more than 60 specialties, and each student completes a research project of publishable quality before graduation. (Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine)
• Virginia Tech Carilion pairs its Phase 2 clerkships: family medicine (4 weeks) with surgery (6), internal medicine (8) with neurology (2), pediatrics (5) with psychiatry (5), and obstetrics and gynecology (6) with 4 weeks of research. (Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine)
• The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine opened its first campus, in Blacksburg, in 2003, in the Corporate Research Center of Virginia Tech; the college admits between 175 and 185 students per class, a student body of 700. (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• VCOM says that since its first class graduated in 2007, nearly 40% of its graduates have stayed to practice in rural or medically underserved areas in Virginia. (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine)
• The University of Virginia School of Medicine teaches its Cells to Society curriculum on two campuses, Charlottesville and Inova. (University of Virginia School of Medicine)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Virginia offered 845 residency positions in 26 specialties, the most in internal medicine (242), family medicine (122), and pediatrics (77). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, The Medical School at a Glance (checked November 1, 2026); Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Phase 2 (checked November 1, 2026); Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia campus (checked November 1, 2026); University of Virginia School of Medicine, MD Program (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

How Virginia's MD schools run the clinical years

Virginia Tech Carilion pairs its Phase 2 clerkships: family medicine with surgery, internal medicine with neurology, pediatrics with psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology with four weeks of research (Phase 2). A student studies for two subjects in the same stretch, so shelf exam review should cover both partners from the first week rather than one after the other.

It is also a small, research-heavy school. Its class began at 42 a year and rose to 49 with the Class of 2024, students train at Carilion Clinic, and every student completes a research project of publishable quality before graduation (Virginia Tech Carilion). Research deadlines and board dates land in the same years, so put Step dates on the calendar before the project timeline fills it.

The University of Virginia teaches its Cells to Society curriculum on two campuses, Charlottesville and Inova (UVA School of Medicine). Our Charlottesville page covers the main campus in more detail.

The DO side: VCOM and Liberty

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine opened in Blacksburg in 2003, in Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center, and admits between 175 and 185 students per class (VCOM). VCOM says nearly 40% of its graduates since 2007 have stayed to practice in rural or medically underserved areas in Virginia, so many of its students go on to license in the state whose rules are on this page.

For VCOM and Liberty students the core series is COMLEX. Some DO students also sit the USMLE to apply more widely; our COMLEX Level 2 vs Step 2 CK comparison helps decide whether the second exam is worth the time.

Internal medicine was 242 of the 845 residency positions Virginia programs offered in the 2025 Main Residency Match (NRMP), which is why three Virginia programs appear in the ABIM table above and why many residents here later sit the ABIM exam.

Which board exams Virginia students take

Students at Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine take the USMLE: Step 1, pass/fail since January 26, 2022, Step 2 CK and Step 3 (USMLE).

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Virginia in Blacksburg and Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Lynchburg send DO students to COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME).

In internal medicine, first-time pass rates on the ABIM exam in 2023-2025 were 97% of 97 at the University of Virginia Medical Center, 94% of 67 at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke and 91% of 99 at VCU Health System in Richmond (ABIM).

Virginia licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Virginia's board allows four attempts on any USMLE Step; a fifth is considered upon petition or appeal, reviewed under Board Guidance Document 85-9 (FSMB). The USMLE must be completed within ten years, or longer if the candidate is ABMS certified, and a first license needs one year of training (FSMB).

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Virginia's rules mean for how you study

• Virginia lets you try a USMLE Step four times, with a fifth considered on petition or appeal (FSMB). The USMLE program's cap is also four attempts per Step (USMLE eligibility rules), so treat four as your limit.
• Virginia allows ten years to complete the USMLE, and longer if you are ABMS certified (FSMB). A dual degree, research years or a leave of absence can use part of that window, so date all three Steps early.
• FSMB's Virginia entry speaks only of the USMLE, with no COMLEX attempt or time rule (FSMB). DO graduates of Edward Via Virginia or Liberty should ask the board how it counts COMLEX before planning Level 3 retakes.

Many Virginia students rotate, interview or match next door. Virginia's neighbors on our list: Washington, DC (3 MD, 0 DO), Kentucky (2 MD, 1 DO), Maryland (3 MD, 1 DO), North Carolina (4 MD, 1 DO), Tennessee (5 MD, 2 DO), West Virginia (2 MD, 1 DO).

How much Virginia searches for board prep

Virginia's best rank is “USMLE Step 2” at 15th of 51; “USMLE” is 18th, “USMLE Step 1” 21st and “Shelf exam” 24th, while “COMLEX” is 27th (Google Trends, United States, October 2021 to October 2026). Every USMLE term outranks COMLEX, which fits a state whose four MD schools outnumber its two DO colleges.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.