<p>Those are reasonable points, so I'll retract some of what I said.</p>
<p>Availability of a volunteer program in a hospital is useful. Research can be important, but it doesn't have to be in a hospital.</p>
<p>As for admissions, I'm of mixed minds. The admissions committees that I've been on give some preference to students from the home college. The preference is not dramatic but does include looking a bit more carefully at the applicant before rejection. One reason for the high percentages, however, is that virtually all of the more competitive applicants apply to the "home" school, and there is often a high yield for those accepted. It also helps that members of the committee are familiar with typical courses and letter writer.</p>
<p>I went to Duke, by the way, and their volunteer program and their research opportunities were fantastic and within easy walking distance of the main quad. If I'd gone to someplace like Williams, however, I've always assumed they have some sort of parallel opportunities without the immediate availability of a huge medicoindustrial complex. I could be wrong about that.</p>