Re: the commute, I went to UVA and had a bunch of friends at VCU, so I made that drive quite a bit back in my day, and I can tell you that doing that drive back and forth in the same day absolutely sucks. If you find a program you like at Virginia and you’re accepted but you’re not keen on living in Charlottesville, I’d definitely recommend moving further out west in Henrico or perhaps Goochland/Louisa.

As far as schools, it’s really dependent on what you want to do. The universities in this area and in Virginia more broadly are all pretty good, but they each have their strengths. I have a master’s that I don’t and will never use, so my personal advice would be to make sure that it’s worth it to you and useful in your field. They cost a lot of money, time, and energy, and having it for nothing is no fun.